Following is the text of the June 6 speech of U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Darryl Johnson in Seattle Washington before the National Center for APEC:

National Center for APEC -- Luncheon Address
The Hon. Darryl Johnson
U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand

The Rainier Club, Seattle, WA
June 6, 12:00 p.m.

APEC's Growing Value

It gives me great pleasure to discuss APEC's special importance for the U.S. APEC members account for about half of the world's exports and imports and have an enormous impact on international trade trends and policy. Consuming half a trillion dollars in U.S. exports per year, APEC is home to our biggest customers in the world.

Within APEC, the members of ASEAN hold particular significance for the U.S. ASEAN is a market of about half a billion people; its total trade with the U.S., exceeding $120 billion, ranks ASEAN as a block ranks just behind our AFTA partners, the EU, and Japan as a major trading partner. Propelled by the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), intra-ASEAN trade has increased four and a half times since AFTA implementation commenced in 1993; except for Malaysian autos, implementation is due to be completed next year. Testament to the region's dynamism, U.S. investment in ASEAN grew more than 340 percent between 1990 and 2000.

APEC was established 13 years ago because it had become clear that growing interdependence among Asia-Pacific economies needed a vehicle for broad discussion of trade and investment issues. APEC also provides a regular forum at which leaders of the 21 member economies can discuss current issues beyond the economic realm and can resolve disputes. Quite simply, it has become the single most important institution in the Asia-Pacific region. As the site of the first APEC Leaders meeting and home of the National Center for APEC, Seattle has played a central role in U.S. participation in APEC.

APEC's value beyond its central trade and investment agenda was driven home at the APEC Leaders' Summit in Shanghai, barely a month after the 9/11 atrocity. Responding to President Bush's call for a worldwide coalition against terrorism, APEC leaders condemned the 9/11 attacks in the strongest terms. This was a significant show of unity by economies representing 60 percent of world GDP and one quarter of the world's Muslim population. The statement committed APEC members to implement relevant UN conventions and resolutions, including those aimed at cutting off financing for terrorist groups, such as al-Qaida. Beyond these commitments, it is almost axiomatic that the interrelationships encompassed by APEC's "Bogor goals" -- free trade and open investment by 2020 (2010 for developed economies) -- will make the world a more secure place. I should add that ASEAN members' support for and implementation of the APEC declaration are just part of their critical, multi-faceted participation in the war on terror.

Multilaterally, a Multiplier

As Ambassador to one of our oldest trading partners in the region, I am struck by how multi-layered our economic relationship is. Every week the Embassy engages our Thai counterparts on not only a host of bilateral issues, but on the work of innumerable multilateral economic institutions -- FAO, ICAO, WCO, almost any alphabetic combination you can imagine. And of course, this past year work toward a new round at the WTO, which will soon be headed by a Thai, Dr. Supachai, took on central significance.

The vigorous work of APEC's 16 special committees and working groups informs the positions of the member states in so many of these other fora, projecting the APEC vision more globally. The APEC leaders' pledge last year to support the launch of a new global trade round at Doha was just one example of APEC's invaluable multiplier effect. Thailand and the other ASEAN countries lie near the center of numerous critical debates at the WTO and other multilateral institutions. They are important bridges between developed world and developing, and influential in cross-cutting disputes, such as those over biotechnology, agricultural subsidies, and foreign investment liberalization. Collaboration at APEC boosts prospects that these broader debates will be resolved in a manner supportive of expanded trade and investment.

Synergy at Regional Level

APEC plays an important positive role in modulating regional developments, as well. Looking at Southeast Asia, in fact, APEC's objectives and ASEAN's commitment to implement its Free Trade Area are mutually reinforcing. APEC might not have become the significant institution it is without the basic belief in freer trade and investment among the ASEAN founding members. At the same time, APEC has served to sustain that belief among ASEAN members through a buckling financial crisis and its protracted recovery. And looking ahead, the Bogor goals will help members stay the course as they face new challenges. It is noteworthy, also, that ASEAN has responded to China's growing impact on trade and investment patterns not with protectionist proposals, but with pursuit of a China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement. Certainly, the growing interest among ASEAN members in FTAs reflects their philosophical commitment to trade and foreign investment. In Thailand, this has led to our mutual interest in a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), which could lead to elaboration of the elements of a possible free trade agreement. APEC gives us confidence that regional developments will fuel free trade trends globally, and not degenerate into exclusive, protectionist groupings.

... and Confidence Nationally

On a national level, APEC collaboration offers member governments the data, policy guidance, and peer support needed to advance their own liberalization and reform agendas more effectively. This is especially important as nations become more democratic and governments adjust to the domestic pressures of increasingly organized interest groups and a free press.

In Thailand, APEC's work has been a continuous resource for economic reform advocates. A new APEC Study Center will make better-informed opinion-makers, students, and the public at large. And APEC's resources and objectives will complement the bilateral work program we hope to see underway soon under the TIFA I just mentioned. U.S. Trade Representative Bob Zoellick is fond of saying we will push free trade bilaterally, regionally, and globally; with APEC, we can do all three at once.

Opportunities at Los Cabos

What can we look forward to when President Bush meets his APEC counterparts at Los Cabos, Mexico, in October? Strengthening cooperation in the fight against terrorism will be a priority again. Terrorism remains a foremost concern in the minds of the American public and those of other APEC members; it is an impediment to achieving the benefits promised by more open trade and investment.

On the trade and investment front, U.S. leadership will promote needed reforms, particularly creating greater certainty for the foreign investment that will be a key to recovery. In this regard, we will seek in APEC to:

-- Negotiate an agreement on economic transparency;

-- Lay the basis for negotiation in 2003 of a digital trade agreement;

-- Implement key parts of the "e-APEC" (information technology) strategy;

-- Push for more energy and telecom sector liberalization;

-- Take concrete steps to create new Strategic Petroleum Reserves in key countries; and

-- Continue public-private dialogue aimed at boosting food productivity.

Looking Ahead to Thailand's APEC 2003

I am excited about the prospects for progress at Los Cabos, but you'll have to forgive me if I look past it to next year, when Thailand hosts APEC. It may be a bit premature to attempt a preview of the Thai APEC Meeting but permit me some observations. Amb. Larry Greenwood, the senior U.S. official on APEC, was in Bangkok recently to discuss a potential theme for the Thai APEC, among other things. Although Thailand's theme has yet to be finalized, its current APEC priorities are illuminating. The Thai have been unwavering in their commitment to the Bogor goals and want to see "words being put into actions". They join us in pressing APEC to play a leading role in the WTO in fighting protectionism and ensuring that economic liberalization pays dividends. Specific topics featured in the Thai agenda include facilitation of paperless trading under the E-Commerce framework, promotion of SMEs, and implementation of counter-terrorism measures.

In Thailand, the U.S. has one of our strongest allies anywhere. Our relationship goes back a long way, and throughout the years we have worked together on defense and security, as well as on trade and investment. In recent decades, our cooperation has extended to fighting drug abuse, HIV/AIDS, and more recently, terrorism.

I look forward to working with the Thai as they host APEC. One thing I can offer definitively on Thailand's APEC hosting -- and I speak from considerable personal experience -- is that participants will be treated to charm and hospitality second to none.

With that, I'd like to thank you all for our very warm reception here. I'll be happy to field questions about Thailand, either here or at the Embassy in Bangkok, which I encourage you all to visit when you're in the region.

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