Remarks by Ambassador Froman at the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade Press Conference:
Concrete Results that Support U.S. Jobs and Economic Growth
Chicago, Illinois
December 18, 2014
“Secretary Pritzker and I came to JCCT this year with the goal of bolstering a dialogue that remains the cornerstone of U.S.-China engagement on trade and investment.
“We measure the productivity of the JCCT in a number of ways. We measure it through the progress we make to build mutual trust and respect. We measure it through our ability to make headway through frank conversations about the challenges we face. And ultimately, and most importantly, we measure the JCCT by the progress we make to support U.S. jobs and exports.
“By these measures, and particularly in the areas of market access, intellectual property rights protection, innovation policies, and competition law enforcement, this year’s JCCT has been a success.
“From the very start, when China informed on Tuesday of their pending approvals for three U.S. produced seeds, to our meetings today when we secured commitments to open markets for our exports and level the playing field for American workers and firms, we have worked to deliver concrete results that support economic growth in every corner of our country.
“For example the strong results we secured on Geographical Indications will help keep China’s growing markets open to our nation’s cheese producers, from Oregon to Wisconsin to Vermont.
“The commitment we’ve received to cut down the time it takes to get U.S. pharmaceutical products and medical devices to patients in China will support an industry that is estimated to directly employ more the 800,000 Americans, and that indirectly supports over 3 million jobs.
“The commitment to treat intellectual property owned or developed in our country the same as domestic intellectual property will support our nation’s most innovative and groundbreaking industries.
“The steps we’ve agreed to take to combat unregulated fishing and support sustainable fisheries are important to both the environment and to an industry that supports jobs from California to Maine.
“The dialogue we have agreed to to ease the adoption of our innovative agriculture products, will benefit corn and soybean farmers right here in America’s heartland.
“I could go on and on about trade secrets and the enforcement of their Anti-Monopoly law and the other agreements we were able to discuss and reach agreement with our Chinese counterparts.
“One of the most important parts of this reimagined JCCT was a strategic economic dialogue we had today about the challenges that excess capacity – from steel to solar panels - poses to the global economy and strategies for dealing with it.
“Each and every one of these outcomes was a result of our efforts to reflect the needs of American workers and businesses at the negotiating table.
“The JCCT is one of our best tools for strengthening relations between our nations, engaging on our most challenging issues, and ultimately, delivering economic benefit for our people.
“We all look forward to building on today’s outcome over the course of the year ahead.”
For the U.S. fact sheet on the 25th Session of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, please click here.
For the joint U.S.-China fact sheet on the 25th JCCT, please click here
