ASK THE EXPERTS
100
Ron Kirk
Approve pending
U.S. trade
agreements
RON KIRK
How can we best move forward
with trade liberalization?
101
Samuel Dyer
Look beyond the
hemisphere to
free trade with
Asia and Europe
101
Peter Van Loan
Aggressively
negotiate
bilateral F TAs
Trade liberalization has moved hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and into the global
middle class. If countries make
serious commitments to open up
their markets and play by the rules,
trade will continue to support more
jobs for working families in the
United States and around the world.
Even as we continue to play a
leading role in global trade, the U. S.
welcomes the emergence of large de-
veloping economies in Latin America
and Asia. That is why the U. S. is lead-
ing the way on multilateral trade lib-
eralization with creative approaches
in the Doha Development Round and,
along with regional partners Chile
and Peru, innovative models like the
Trans-Pacific Partnership. We are also
working hard to ensure a level play-
ing field for our farmers, workers and
firms, both small and large.
In U. S. trade agreements, we seek to
reflect our values and to create more
job opportunities here and with our
partners. For example, the Office of
the United States Trade Representa-
tive (USTR) is addressing outstanding
issues related to agreements with Co-
lombia and Panama, all of which Presi-
dent Obama would like to advance for
congressional consideration quickly.
The U. S.-Korea trade agreement is
an historic opportunity to increase
102
Robert Lawrence
Challenge the
public’s
misconceptions
about free trade
RON KIRK
is the 16th United States Trade
Representative. He was mayor of
Dallas, Texas, from 1995 to 2002.
exports and support job creation
in America and to enhance U. S.
economic leadership in the Asia-
Pacific region.
Colombia is both an important
market and a key partner in the Amer-
icas. The Obama administration sup-
ports President Santos’ advances with
respect to human rights and is com-
mitted to working with him on con-
cerns related to trade unionists.
We are making excellent progress
to address concerns with Panama’s la-
bor regime and tax transparency rules.
These are just a few areas where
USTR is working every day to increase
exports, create well-paying jobs,
and expand prosperity in the United
States and around the world.
