WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--“Yesterday’s passage of one of the largest trade deals in history should serve as an urgent wake-up call to American policymakers. Countries around the world are taking notice of – and exploiting – our inaction on trade, to the detriment of America’s economy and job creation. We need to pass the U.S.-Korea, Colombia and Panama free trade agreements (FTAs) as soon as possible.
“Initial negotiations on our own agreement with Korea concluded nearly 4 years ago. We should be talking today about new and better trade deals that can boost growth and jobs in America. Yet, we’re stuck in neutral. The President says we need to pass the U.S.-Korea FTA. Republicans say we should pass it. Democrats say we should pass it. The time for action is now. If we do not pass our agreement in time for a July 1 enactment, it will be the European Union and not the United States that reaps the greatest benefits of the Korean market.
“America’s future prosperity hinges on our ability to engage in overseas markets, where more than 95 percent of potential customers for U.S. goods and services reside. We will continue working with the President and lawmakers from both parties to secure final passage of this critical agreement and those with Colombia and Panama – and with them the tens of thousands of U.S. jobs these FTAs will create and sustain,” said Evan G. Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of ACE Limited.
Business Roundtable (BRT) is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with nearly $6 trillion in annual revenues and more than 13 million employees. BRT member companies comprise nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock market and invest more than $114 billion annually in research and development – nearly half of all private U.S. R&D spending. Our companies pay more than $179 billion in dividends to shareholders and generate an estimated $1.5 trillion in sales for small businesses annually.
BRT companies give nearly $9 billion a year in combined charitable contributions.
Please visit us at www.brt.org, check us out on Facebook and LinkedIn, and follow us on Twitter.