DOC Home Page

Newsroom Home


Press Releases


Media Contacts


Secretary Evans

	Biography
	Speeches

Webcast Archive

Photographic Services

Search all Commerce web sites at FirstGov Enter search terms:

SECRETARY EVANS EMBARKS ON TRIP TO
CHINA, IRELAND AND MEXICO
FURTHERS COMMITMENT TO GROWING AMERICAN JOBS THROUGH
FREE AND FAIR TRADE

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans on June 21, 2004 begins an eleven-day visit to China, Ireland and Mexico and will meet with government and business leaders to discuss free and fair trade between the United States and the three countries in order to grow American jobs.

In China, he will stress the importance of China’s compliance with WTO obligations and call for senior Chinese government officials to eliminate trade barriers hindering U.S.-China trade relations. He will also be joined by Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao to participate in several events during his visit.

“We are going to continue to look American workers in the eye, all across this country, and tell them we are going to be tough when it comes to enforcing our trade laws and maintaining a level playing field with the rest of the world. And China is certainly right there at the top of the list,” said Evans. “We are also working to open Chinese markets to more American exports. As one of the leading exporters of manufactured goods, it is in China’s best interest to eliminate barriers to market access for United States companies.”

Evans’ visit to China comes on the heels of the US-China Joint Committee of Trade (JCCT) meeting in Washington where Evans and China’s Vice Premier Wu Yi discussed the importance of compliance to avoid disputes and amplify the positive signal it sends to investors and other trading partners.

Eight members of the President’s Export Council (PEC) (see attached) will join Evans during the Beijing leg of the trip for high-level meetings with senior Chinese government officials to discuss ways to increase U.S. exports to China. The PEC members will also share their views on China’s economic prospects and help identify critical missing elements in China’s development toward a market economy. The PEC consists of twenty-eight members and is appointed by the President to advise him on government policies and programs that affect U.S. trade performance.

Evans will visit Harbin, China, June 21, for meetings with Chinese senior government leaders and give a before students at the Harbin Institute of Technology. Secretary Evans will also discuss strengthening U.S.-China trade relations in remarks to the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, June 22-24 and spotlight U.S. corporate stewardship by visiting American companies in China

On June 24, Secretary Evans will head to Ireland for three days to participate in the U.S.-EU Summit where he will help foster dialogue between the United States and the European Commission. Evans met last year with EU Commissioner Erkki Liikanen on the eve of the 2003 U.S.-EU Summit to discuss issues of critical importance to transatlantic commerce, including the Doha trade talks, security issues, regulatory cooperation, and capital market convergence. The Secretary is also expected to meet with Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister Mary Harney.

Evans will conclude his eleven-day trip in Guadalajara, Mexico, June 27-29, where he will seek to leverage private resources to create jobs and promote prosperity in less developed areas of Mexico. His visit is part of Partnership for Prosperity Entrepreneurial Workshop created by President Bush and Mexico President Fox during their historic summit in September 2001. The first workshop was held last June in San Francisco. The conference will include panel sessions, during which participants will discuss priorities, including housing and rural development and information technology, as well as prevailing conditions in key economic areas and ways to enhance competitiveness.

“The relationship with our neighbors to the south represents a strategic alliance that is critical to strengthening the economic position of both countries in the global marketplace,” Evans said. “Working together, we can achieve greater prosperity and greater opportunity.”