For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 10, 2007

Open Economies Policy Statement

White House News

      President Bush's Statement on Open Economies
      In Focus: Jobs & Economy

In advancing open markets, the United States will:

• Reinforce the principle that a domestic climate conducive to foreign investment strengthens national security. Meeting the challenges of a post-9/11 world need not require securing one at the expense of the other. The United States recognizes that growing inflows of foreign investment are necessary to expand levels of employment, innovation, and competitiveness in this country. Only those safeguards that are clearly necessary to protect our national security should be maintained.

• Actively target unreasonable and discriminatory barriers to investment. The United States encourages a broad acceptance of the national-treatment principle in all countries and places a premium on the protection of U.S. investments abroad. The United States opposes measures that distort international investment flows, including trade-related or other performance requirements, discriminatory treatment of foreign investment, and expropriation without compensation. In turn, when countries promise to protect investment and eliminate such distortions, investors must have the ability to enforce those binding promises in neutral international settings that are free from the political intervention of governments. Further, countries need to be responsive to the needs of investors for access to innovative cross-border financial services. The United States will continue to allow foreign investors open and fair access to investment opportunities under our statutes and regulations and in accordance with international law, and will continue to welcome investment through programs such as the Invest in America initiative.

• Work with our partners in the WTO to strengthen the rules-based trading system so that it continues to promote open markets, trade reform and new opportunities for development and growth. My Administration is committed to completing the Doha Development Round with an agreement that opens markets for goods and services, ensures reform of agriculture and strengthens WTO rules, including in key areas such as trade facilitation. The predictability, certainty, and transparency of the system enhance opportunities for international investment by building investor confidence.

• Promote an international environment in which international investment can make the greatest contribution to the development process. The United States has initiated the Millennium Challenge Account, which assists developing countries that create and maintain sound policy environments, including governing justly, investing in people, and encouraging economic freedoms. Through our bilateral and multilateral economic assistance programs, the United States will continue to explore ways to increase both public and private capital flows and support international investment in the developing world. As countries continue to adopt free market principles and democratic reforms, international investment is necessary to nurture market-oriented development and reduce debt service burdens. Economic freedom is one of the single greatest antidotes to poverty worldwide, and a positive link exists between the liberalization of investment flows and greater international trade.

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