[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 130, 114th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 9449 of May 13, 2016

World Trade Week, 2016

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

The United States of America cannot afford to sit on the sidelines of
the global economy. With over 95 percent of our Nation's potential
customers living outside our borders, trade agreements are a vital part
of our agenda for creating jobs and growing our economy--and smart trade
agreements that level the playing field for American workers and
businesses are a vital piece of middle-class economics. During World
Trade Week, we reaffirm the importance of global trade, and we redouble
our efforts to pursue trade deals that reflect American values and give
our people a fair shot at success.
America's small businesses employ more than half of all Americans, and
they represent 98 percent of our Nation's exporters. I am committed to a
trade agenda that includes strong, enforceable provisions in our
agreements that help our businesses--large and small--support higher-
paying jobs and ship products stamped ``Made in the USA'' around the
world. My Administration has ramped up enforcement of our trade laws
like never before. Last year, I renewed and expanded the Trade
Adjustment Assistance program, providing job training and other
assistance to American workers. And earlier this year, I signed
bipartisan legislation that helps us enforce our trade agreements--
helping ensure that other countries play by the rules.
Some of our greatest economic opportunities abroad are in the Asia-
Pacific region. For more than 5 years, the United States negotiated a
new, forward-looking trade deal that puts workers first and ensures we
write the rules of the road for trade in the 21st century. The Trans-
Pacific Partnership (TPP) brings 12 countries representing nearly 40
percent of the global economy together to trade and invest in the Asia-
Pacific--one of the world's fastest growing regions. The TPP includes
fully enforceable provisions that ensure a free and open Internet, re

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spect intellectual property rights, protect the environment, and uphold
worker rights. It eliminates more than 18,000 taxes imposed by other
countries on American products, and it bolsters our leadership abroad
while supporting good jobs here at home. The United States signed TPP
this year, and I will continue working with the Congress to enact it as
soon as possible.
The largest trade and investment relationship in the world is between
the United States and the European Union--yet too many barriers remain
in the way of even greater trade and investment between us. That is why,
together, we have moved forward with the Trans-Atlantic Trade and
Investment Partnership (T-TIP), which will eliminate tariffs, simplify
procedures, bridge differences in regulations, and cut red tape. T-TIP
also enforces strong standards, and it will reinforce our larger trans-
Atlantic relationship--the foundation of our prosperity and security
since World War II.
Our global economy's growth is fueled by trade. While understandable
skepticism exists about trade, particularly in places that have been hit
hard by trade deals of the past, we cannot ignore the realities of the
new economy. Rather, we must set the highest standards for our trade
agreements, enforce the commitments and obligations of our trading
partners, and help write the rules of the road for trade in the 21st-
century global economy, as we have done with TPP and will do through T-
TIP. And we must continue to harness the dynamism and entrepreneurship
inherent to who we are as a people and enable Americans to sell the best
products and ideas in the world to every corner of the world. This week,
let us renew our commitment to that mission and work together toward a
future of greater opportunity for all.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 15 through May 21,
2016, as World Trade Week. I encourage all Americans to visit
www.WhiteHouse.gov/Trade and to observe this week with events, trade
shows, and educational programs that celebrate and inform Americans
about the benefits of trade to our Nation and the global economy.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirteenth day of
May, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
fortieth.
BARACK OBAMA