Press Release

For Immediate Release October 25, 2005

Contact: Adnan Jalil The Fratelli Group (202) 659-5147

ECAT JOINS IN CREATION OF AMERICAN BUSINESS COALITION FOR DOHA (ABCDoha) TO PROMOTE AN AMBITIOUS OUTCOME IN THE WTO DOHA NEGOTIATIONS
Urges All Countries to Join the United States in Moving Doha Negotiations Forward

WASHINGTON, DC - Calman J. Cohen, President of the Emergency Committee for American Trade (ECAT), joined with other members of the U.S. business community today, to form the American Business Coalition for Doha (ABCDoha) to promote forward momentum in the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations:

"With the formation today of ABCDoha, ECAT and its colleagues in the American business community seek to amplify the strong cross-sectoral support across the U.S. business community for a comprehensive and ambitious outcome from the DDA negotiations, starting with the 6 th Ministerial of the WTO in Hong Kong this December.

"The DDA has the potential to open markets and spur economic growth and an improved standard of living at home and abroad, potentially lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty throughout the world - but only if the negotiations continue along a path of high ambition and comprehensiveness in which all WTO members fully participate.

"We welcome the efforts by the U.S. government and, in particular, U.S. Trade Representative Portman, in substantially moving forward the negotiations with the recent U.S. offer on agricultural liberalization. Several other WTO members have started to step up to the plate, but still others remain on the sidelines or have made offers that fall short.

"As a founding member of the steering committee of ABCDoha, ECAT will work with its colleagues to intensify its efforts with the Administration, Members of Congress and governments and businesses in other countries in support of an ambitious outcome in which all countries participate to foster greater economic growth and a higher standard of living."

ABCDoha is an umbrella group of companies, associations and other organizations dedicated to achieving comprehensive and commercially meaningful results from the DDA negotiations. ECAT is a founding member of ABCDoha's steering committee.

 

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Founded in 1967, ECAT is an organization of the heads of leading U.S. international business enterprises representing all major sectors of the American economy. Their annual worldwide sales total $2 trillion and they employ approximately five and one-half million persons. ECAT's purpose is to promote economic growth through the expansion of international trade and investment.