    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 117, 108th Congress, 1st Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    Proclamation 7679 of May 16, 2003

    World Trade Week, 2003

    By the President of the United States of America
    A Proclamation

    Trade expands prosperity, helps raise millions from poverty, and is an
    engine of economic growth within our Nation and around the world. Trade
    injects new energy and vitality into the global economy by fostering the
    exchange of ideas and innovations among people around the world. Free
    and open trade also helps promote peace and security. During World Trade
    Week, we renew our commitment to developing and implementing trade
    policies that create new opportunities and promote global economic
    growth.
    My Administration is pursuing an ambitious trade agenda that is
    restoring America's leadership in the global trading system. We worked
    hard for the passage of the Trade Act of 2002, which reinstated Trade
    Promotion Authority after an 8-year lapse. Trade Promotion Authority re-
    established the ability of the United States to credibly negotiate
    comprehensive trade agreements by ensuring that agreements will be
    approved or rejected, by the Congress, but not amended. This gives other
    countries renewed confidence in their trade negotiations with the United
    States.
    To extend the benefits of trade and to improve the lives of people in
    our Nation and around the world, my Administration continues to pursue
    global, regional, and bilateral trade agreements. Through the Doha
    Development Agenda negotiations at the World Trade Organization, the
    United States is seeking to strengthen the multilateral trading system,
    increase market access opportunities, and promote global development.
    Regionally, we are working to build on the success of the North American
    Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the Free Trade Area of the Americas,
    which will expand free trade benefits throughout the Western Hemisphere.
    We are also encouraging the free flow of trade and investment in the
    Pacific among our partners in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
    forum and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. In addition, we
    are negotiating a free trade agreement with five Central American
    democracies and will soon begin free trade agreement negotiations with
    the Southern African Customs Union to help spur economic growth in these
    two regions. Bilaterally, I recently signed a historic free trade
    agreement with Singapore--the first of its kind between the United
    States and an Asian/Pacific country, and we are finalizing a similar
    agreement with Chile. Free trade agreement negotiations are also
    underway with Australia and Morocco.
    In America, trade is also critical to maintaining our economic
    competitiveness in the global market. It has been estimated that one in
    eleven American jobs--over 12 million--are supported by exports of goods
    and services. In the 1990s, exports accounted for about one-quarter of
    our economic growth. Our Nation's two major trade agreements during this
    time, NAFTA and the Uruguay Round, provided consumers with a greater
    choice of goods at better prices, while raising living standards for a
    typical American family of four by up to $2,000 a year.

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    My Administration is also providing assistance to help trade-impacted
    workers adapt to the challenge of international competition. The Trade
    Adjustment Assistance program helps trade-impacted workers gain or
    enhance job-related skills and find new jobs. The program provides
    eligible workers with up to 2 years of training, income support during
    training, job search assistance, and relocation allowances.
    World trade allows all nations to share in the great economic, social,
    and political progress of our age and provides a foundation for a more
    peaceful and stable world. This week, we recognize the importance of
    free trade in promoting prosperity and freedom in the United States and
    around the world.
    NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of
    America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
    laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 18 through May 24,
    2003, as World Trade Week. I encourage all Americans to observe this
    week with events, trade shows, and educational programs that celebrate
    the benefits of trade to our Nation and the global economy.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of
    May, in the year of our Lord two thousand three, and of the Independence
    of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-seventh.
    GEORGE W. BUSH