[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 21 (Monday, May 26, 2003)]
[Pages 621-622]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7679--World Trade Week, 2003

 May 16, 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.
    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.

[[Page 622]]

    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

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., May 20, 
2003]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on May 21. 
This item was not received in time for publication in the appropriate 
issue.