[House Document 108-100]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                     

108th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - House Document 108-100


 
           THE UNITED STATES-SINGAPORE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

 A DRAFT OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS TO IMPLEMENT 
THE UNITED STATES-SINGAPORE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (FTA), PURSUANT TO 19 
                      U.S.C. 3805(a)(1)(A) AND (B)




    July 16, 2003.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the 
   Committees on Ways and Means and the Judiciary, and ordered to be 
                                printed
To the Congress of the United States:
    I am pleased to transmit legislation and supporting 
documents to implement the United States-Singapore Free Trade 
Agreement (FTA). The Agreement will further open Singapore's 
markets and increase competition and consumer choice. This is 
America's first FTA with an Asian-Pacific nation, and we hope 
it will serve as a benchmark for future free trade agreements 
with other nations in the region. The Agreement will enhance 
prosperity in the United States and Singapore, serve the 
interest of expanding U.S. commerce, and advance our overall 
national interest.
    My Administration is strongly committed to securing a level 
playing field for America's workers, farmers, and businesses. 
The Congress helped advance that policy by passing Trade 
Promotion Authority in the Trade Act of 2002 (the ``Trade 
Act''). The Congress can help us take another important step by 
approving this Agreement and the implementing legislation. 
Without this Agreement, U.S. workers and businesses could be 
placed at a competitive disadvantage, because Singapore has 
signed or is currently working on free trade agreements with 
Japan, Canada, Australia, Mexico, and India.
    In negotiating this FTA, my Administration was guided by 
the negotiating objectives set out in the Trade Act. The 
Agreement locks in tariff-free access for all U.S. goods, 
including textile and agriculture products, and addresses other 
barriers to trade. It opens opportunities for our services 
businesses, which now account for nearly 65 percent of our 
gross domestic product and more than 80 percent of employment 
in the United States. Through this FTA, Singapore will grant 
substantial additional market access to U.S. firms across a 
broad spectrum of services, including banking, insurance, 
securities and related financial services, express delivery 
services, professional services, and telecommunications. The 
Agreement also incorporates commitments on regulatory 
transparency that will be of special help to services 
businesses.
    This Agreement provides state-of-the-art intellectual 
property protection, including significant commitments on trade 
in digital products. It ensures that electronic commerce will 
stay free of duties and discriminatory rules. In addition, 
Singapore will accede to international treaties dealing with 
copyright and access issues for the Internet.
    United States citizens and businesses that invest in 
Singapore will have significant increased protections. This 
Agreement enhances transparency and openness in order to foster 
a more secure environment for trade and investment. 
Furthermore, Singapore will provide U.S. investors with 
important substantive protections that Singaporean investors 
already enjoy in the United States.
    Singapore and the United States have also agreed to 
cooperate on the environment and labor issues and to establish 
mechanisms to support those efforts. The FTA obligates each 
country to enforce its own labor and environmental laws and 
makes clear that domestic labor or environmental protections 
may not be reduced in order to encourage trade or investment. 
The Agreement also preserves our right to pursue other 
legitimate domestic objectives, including the protection of 
health and safety, consumer interests, and national security.
    Trade and openness contribute to development, the rule of 
law, economic growth, and international cooperation. Singapore 
is a close partner of the United States, and this Agreement 
will strengthen those ties.
    With the approval of this Agreement and passage of the 
implementing legislation by the Congress, we will advance U.S. 
economic, security, and political interests, while encouraging 
others to work with us to expand free trade around the world.

                                                    George W. Bush.
    The White House, July 15, 2003.
    
    
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