SECRETARY CLINTON:
Thank you very much, Andrey Kostin, for that introduction and stealing
one of my lines about the importance of including women across the APEC
region in economic growth and prosperity. And also, I thank you for
everything you’ve done to organize this important gathering, which has
already heard from some of the leaders in the region about our
commitment to enhancing interconnectivity and opportunity for business,
trade, and investment. And I want to thank all who are here
participating as well.
I bring
greetings
from President Obama and a strong reaffirmation of America’s commitment
to APEC. The United States is a Pacific power, not just a diplomatic
and military power, but an economic power. And our growing economic
interdependence is part of why I often say that much of the history of
the 21
st century will be written in Asia.
But before I
say more about America’s economic engagement in the Asia-Pacific and how
it relates to our broader strategy in the region, I’d like to say a few
words about our hosts.
In the economic realm, I want to
congratulate Russia on joining the World Trade Organization. (Inaudible)
this is good for Russia. It’s good for the United States. It’s good for
the global economy. Three successive U.S. administrations worked
steadily to advance Russia’s WTO aspirations. We strongly support the
basic bargain at the heart of the WTO: Nations that uphold
internationally-recognized norms – not just on tariffs but subsidies,
procurement preferences, intellectual property rights and so on – these
nations get to enjoy the benefits of open markets and free trade.
The
World Bank, for example, estimates that by effectively implementing its
WTO commitments, Russia could increase its gross domestic product by
about 3 percent in the medium term, and as much as 11 percent over the
long run. So it pays to join the rules-based global trading system. And
Russia’s trading partners stand to benefit as well. We believe American
exports to Russia could double or even triple.
And that brings me
to the larger point I’d like to make today. Last year, in speeches at
APEC events in Washington and then again in Hong Kong, I outlined
America’s commitment to an economic system based on agreed-upon rules of
the road that apply to all nations, developed and developing alike, a
system that is open, free, transparent, and fair.
This commitment
is a central thrust of U.S. strategy in the region. After an extended
period in which the United States had to focus a great deal of attention
and resources on regions and conflicts elsewhere, we are now making
substantially increased investments in the Asia-Pacific. We seek to work
with others to build a stable and just regional order that will benefit
everyone.
President Obama took office in the midst of the global
financial crisis and worldwide recession. There was then and is an
urgent need to rebalance our economy and reduce instability. So we set
out at the start to accomplish a number of goals to advance economic
progress. There are a few I’d like to speak about briefly today.
They
are, first, to advocate forcefully for American companies, so they can
compete on an equal level playing field. Second, to pursue new trade
agreements with partners across the Asia-Pacific. Third, to expand
engagement with regional and global institutions that can mobilize
effective common action on shared economic challenges. And fourth, to
push for reforms that allow more people in more places to participate in
the formal economy. We’ve made concrete, measurable progress in each of
these areas. We have still more to do, in cooperation with our partners
in the region, including all of you.
Let me begin with our
advocacy for American businesses. President Obama set the ambitious goal
of doubling U.S. exports worldwide by the end of 2014. And we’ve made
great gains in APEC. Between just 2009 and 2011, U.S. exports to other
APEC economies increased by nearly 45 percent, and they’re up another
7.5 percent in the first half of 2012. But we can still go further.
American companies are eager to invest more in Asia. And when they
confront unfair regulations, or if they just want advice on local
customs, they come to us at the State Department. And we go to bat for
them.
To point to one example, in July, in Siem Reap, Cambodia, we
convened the largest-ever U.S.-ASEAN business event. It brought
together more than 150 U.S. business leaders, several dozen business
leaders from across the region, and three heads of state and more than a
dozen government ministers, all with the shared goal of building
stronger ties between and among our business communities.
The
business leaders hammered out opportunities for new partnerships, and
they also spoke constructively about the obstacles that still stand in
the way of greater trade and investment. And the people from various
governments listened and left with a better sense of what we have to do
to improve the business environment in the Asia-Pacific.
Now, I
understand that holding conferences, even such a ground-breaking one,
and especially one as well attended as this, will only get us so far. To
unleash this region’s full potential, we all need to take concrete
steps, especially regarding protectionist policies that distort markets
and discriminate against some companies, but not others. We know there
remain significant discriminatory procurement rules and local content
requirements: So-called tollbooths that force unfair terms on foreign
companies just to enter or expand in a market; forced technology
transfers and government-abetted piracy of intellectual property;
preferential treatment for state-owned or state-supported enterprises.
Those are some of the distortions that we continue to see and have to
stand against.
Now, these protectionist policies might provide
short-term benefit to domestic firms, but they disrupt supply chains,
they scare investors, and ultimately, they set back economies and weaken
the rules of the road that are designed to benefit everyone.
Now,
no country, including my own, has a perfect record on this, but we are
committed to building the kind of global economy the 21
st
century demands. And we’re confident that, if given a fair chance and a
level playing field, American companies can compete and succeed
everywhere.
To make sure our companies get to compete here in
Russia, we are working closely with the United States Congress to
terminate the application to Jackson-Vanik to Russia and grant Russian
Permanent Normalized Trade Relations. We hope that the Congress will
pass on this important piece of legislation this month.
Turning to
the second line of action, the United States has made a major push to
pursue trade agreements with partners across the Asia-Pacific that open
markets and reduce barriers. Our landmark deal with South Korea could
increase exports of American goods by more than $10 billion and grow
South Korea’s economy by 6 percent. In addition to lowering tariffs, the
agreement also includes improvements on intellectual property
protection and enforcement, fair labor practices, environmental
protection, regulatory due process.
That’s also true of the
Trans-Pacific Partnership, a new far-reaching regional trade agreement
that will bring together at least 11 economies, developed and developing
alike, into a single Pacific trading community. It will lower trade
barriers while raising standards, creating more and better growth. And
this agreement will set a new precedent by covering emerging trade
issues such as the competitive impact of state-owned enterprises, the
connectivity of regional supply chains, and opportunities for more
small- and-medium-sized businesses that are truly the engine of economic
growth and employment everywhere.
On the third front – regional
and global institutions – the United States has made a concerted effort
to work more closely with and within them, because fostering a balanced
and stable economy is a challenge too sweeping and complex for countries
to approach in isolation. It calls for all of us to cooperate in
addressing head-on sources of financial stress that can and are spilling
over borders. That means developed nations like the United States need
to build more at home and sell more abroad. It means developing
economies here in Asia. We need to grow larger middle classes that can
fuel demand for both domestic and imported goods and services. That
purchasing power will come from better jobs with higher wages and safer
working conditions, including for women, migrant workers, and others who
are too often excluded from the formal economy. If we do this right,
globalization can become a race to the top, with rising standards of
living and more broadly shared prosperity.
The United States has
made this goal a centerpiece of our bilateral diplomacy, including
within our Strategic and Economic Dialogue with China. And in terms of
our outreach to institutions, we elevated the G20 as the focus for
international cooperation on economic policy. We signed the treaty of
Amity and Cooperation with ASEAN. We joined the East Asia Summit. And as
host of APEC last year in Honolulu, we drove an agenda focused on
strengthening regional economic integration, promoting green sustainable
growth, advancing regulatory cooperation and convergence, and, yes,
expanding economic opportunities for women.
Here’s just one
example of what we’ve done. In Hawaii, President Obama brought his
fellow APEC leaders together around a set of principles for effective,
market-driven, non-discriminatory innovation policy.
We’re all
looking to ensure that innovation is a key growth source for the years
ahead. And it’s time for each of us to implement the innovation
principles we agreed to with detailed guidelines that commit each
economy to actively uphold global standards, enforce intellectual
property rights, end technology transfer mandates, and improve
procurement policies. This should be a major priority for APEC going
forward.
And I am pleased that here in Vladivostok, APEC has
agreed to cap tariffs on more than 50 environmental goods, which will
help encourage the development of clean technologies and greener growth
across the region. Among other steps that will be considered and agreed
to by the leaders, we also pledged to avoid export restrictions that
contribute to spikes in food prices during droughts and shortages, and
to counter illegal wildlife trafficking in endangered and protected
species.
On the fourth and final line of action, the United States
has pushed for reforms that allow more people in more places to
participate in the formal economy, especially women. Now, there is a
growing body of evidence that bringing more women into the workplace,
including into senior management, spurs innovation and productivity.
Research also shows that companies that hire women executives and board
members thrive and often out-perform those that do not. One recent
study, however, found that more than 70 percent of companies in emerging
Asian economies have no women on their governing boards. Now, by some
estimates by the World Bank and others, restrictions on women’s economic
participation are costing the APEC region more than $40 billion in lost
GDP every year.
As the host of APEC, last year the United States
focused on tapping into the vast economic potential of women across the
Asia-Pacific. And in San Francisco, in preparation for the meeting in
Honolulu, member economies targeted four critical areas: access to
capital, access to markets, skills and capacity building, and
leadership. And then in St. Petersburg, again in a run up to the APEC
meeting here in Vladivostok, we agreed among ourselves and announced
more than 70 new programs and policies to implement the goals of those
four areas. The United States launched new initiatives to train central
and commercial banks in inclusive lending practices and to help
governments use their purchasing power to support women entrepreneurs
and small businesses. We’ll stay focused on these challenges, because no
economic system can be truly open, free, transparent, and fair if half
of the population is excluded and exploited.
Let me leave you with
this final thought. The United States is making a major investment in
the Asia-Pacific. And we are doing everything that we can to promote
that open, free, transparent, and fair economic system. But the success
of this effort depends upon all of us here – governments and businesses,
citizens alike. The private sector needs to stand up for the system
that will allowed you to thrive over the long run. That means pushing
governments to support high-standard trade agreements like the
Trans-Pacific Partnership, to drop harmful protectionist policies. It
means playing by the rules, respecting workers, and opening doors
qualified women. And most of all, it means doing what you do best:
build, hire, and grow.
APEC has long made it a priority to include
the private sector as a partner. The CEO Summit and the APEC Business
Advisory Council are both opportunities to keep this dialogue going. And
we’ve also have launched three new APEC Policy Partnerships on food
security, on women and the economy, and now in innovation, science, and
technology, and each of the (inaudible) to have a seat at the table. I
encourage you to join us and contribute your energy and expertise to the
important work we must do together.
The difference between a
region on the path to sustainable growth and one whose gains will be
more short-lived comes down to norms, to those so-called rules of the
road. Setting and enforcing them should be a top priority for
governments and businesses alike. Leaders across the Asia-Pacific have
an opportunity to set the task forward now. The United States stands
ready to be constructive partner in these efforts. We believe in the
Asia-Pacific, but we know that the economic community that APEC foresaw
all those years ago when it started has made great progress. But the
challenge now is not to grow weary, not to turn inward, but to keep
moving forward together. And if we do, the promise of the Asia-Pacific
will be realized. On behalf of the United States, we look forward to
working with you for the years ahead to realize greater, more inclusive,
sustainable prosperity across the Asia-Pacific.
Thank you all. (Applause.)
