WASHINGTON - The Bush Administration today submitted to Congress
the 2004 Trade Policy Agenda and the 2003 Annual Report of the President on the Trade
Agreements Program. The agenda outlines the Administration's trade initiatives
for the year and reviews its work and accomplishments in 2003.
"Trade and open markets contribute
to healthy, growing economies.
U.S. exports accounted for 25 percent of U.S. economic growth over the past decade and supported
an estimated 12 million jobs. The Bush Administration will continue to move forward in 2004 to
tear down barriers, cut import taxes and red tape, work for a level playing field, reduce poverty
through growth, and build new markets that will support higher-paying U.S. jobs," wrote U.S. Trade
Representative Robert B. Zoellick in the overview agenda.
"Through an ambitious trade
agenda, the United States is working to secure the benefits of open markets for American families, farmers, workers, consumers, and
businesses. By pursuing multiple free trade initiatives, the United States is creating a '
competition for liberalization' that provides leverage for openness in all negotiations, establishes models of
success that can be used on many fronts, and develops a fresh political dynamic that puts free
trade on the offensive," Zoellick wrote. "While working to further open
markets and level the playing field for U.S. exports of goods and services, the Administration will also continue to focus on
monitoring and enforcing existing U.S. trade agreements and trade laws, building the capacity of
developing countries to participate in the global economy, and making the case for free trade to the American
public."
The 2004 Trade Policy Agenda and 2003 Annual Report is prepared
according to the guidelines established under the Trade Act of 1974, as amended.
A bound copy of the report for credentialed media will be
available at the USTR press office. For information on picking up the report, call 202-395-3230.