[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 20 (Monday, May 21, 2001)]
[Pages 771-772]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7441--World Trade Week, 2001

 May 18, 2001

 By the President of the United States

 of America

 A Proclamation

    Trade has an extraordinary impact on our Nation's economic strength 
and can be a powerful force for good in the world. This year's World 
Trade Week, observed in communities across the country, will showcase 
the value of trade to all our citizens.
    Exports have accounted for almost one-quarter of the United States 
economic growth during the past decade. We continue to be the world's 
largest exporter of goods and services. From life-saving medical devices 
to information technology that allows people to be more productive, 
American ingenuity is bringing some of the best and most competitive and 
innovative products to the world marketplace.
    Across America, our exports support 12 million jobs that pay wages 
higher than the national average, and high-tech jobs supported by 
exports pay even more. It is no coincidence that the longest period of 
sustained economic growth in U.S. history has followed efforts to 
liberalize trade, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and 
the Uruguay Round Agreement that established the World Trade 
Organization. Trade also leads to more competitive businesses, more 
choices of goods for consumers, and lower prices.
    Along with economic progress, open trade also helps build 
democracies and spreads freedom as it reinforces the spirit of liberty 
by spurring economic and legal reforms. When we promote open trade, we 
promote both economic and political freedom. Societies that open to 
commerce will one day open to liberty.
    World Trade Week celebrates trade as an economic and social engine 
for progress with a special focus on the services sector--the largest 
sector in the private economy, providing more than 85 million jobs. 
These service sector jobs involve a wide range of industries, including 
banking and insurance, travel, entertainment, telecommunications, 
energy, and environ mental services. We are proud that the United States 
is the world's top producer and exporter of services, exporting some 
$300 billion worth a year.
    In addition to the significance of exporting services, export of 
goods continues to be vitally important to our economic performance. 
More than 20 percent of our domestic goods are exported, and for durable 
goods the figure jumps to 36 percent. These exports

[[Page 772]]

support millions of high-quality U.S. jobs and play a key role in U.S. 
economic growth. However, our ability to sustain or expand this growth 
will require tapping the trade potential of the emerging economies in 
Asia and Latin America, as well as bolstering our trade agreements with 
developed economies such as Japan and the European Union. Strengthening 
our trade agreements with these countries, not only opens their 
economies to U.S. goods and services, but also leads to higher rates of 
foreign investment. This investment creates growth, jobs, and the means 
to buy the products we export from the United States.
    The United States will work for open trade at every opportunity. The 
executive and legislative branches need to work together to provide the 
means to cooperate on trade objectives. The renewal of U.S. trade 
promotion authority will bolster a partnership between the executive and 
legislative branches and will enhance the ability of the United States 
to negotiate new trade agreements. We will work for more open trade 
globally through talks in the WTO. We will work to create a free trade 
zone in the Western Hemisphere by 2005. Our commitment to open trade 
will be coupled with a commitment to protect our environment and improve 
labor standards.
    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 20 through May 26, 
2001, as World Trade Week. I encourage Americans to observe this week 
with events, trade shows, and educational programs that celebrate the 
benefits of trade to our economy.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day 
of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand one, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
fifth.
                                                George W. Bush

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:19 a.m., May 21, 
2001]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on May 
22.