Earlier this week, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for APEC Affairs Wendy Cutler sat down to talk about this week's APEC meeting in Singapore. Watch the video below.
You can read her remarks below.
"Hello, my name is Wendy Cutler and I am the Assistant United States Trade Representative for APEC affairs.
On November 14th, The United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk will join President Obama in Singapore for the annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, also known as APEC.
APEC was established in 1989 for the purpose of providing an venue for cooperation and dialogue on economic issues affecting the Asia-Pacific region.
This meeting is important because the 21 member economies of APEC account for over half of global GDP and 44 percent of global trade.
Since 1994, American exports to APEC economies have increased over 137 percent to over $2.1 trillion dollars.
And the Asia-Pacific market presents American companies and workers unparalleled potential.
APEC represents a tremendous opportunity for the United States to work with other nations to reduce trade and investment barriers in order to provide new markets for American goods and services.
At the November APEC Summit, we will work to advance and ambitious and balanced conclusion to the WTO Doha Development Round, promote regional economic integration by addressing specific barriers to trade and investment, and make it cheaper and easier to do business in the region, particularly for small businesses, by cutting red-tape and making rules and regulations more transparent.
Through APEC we are working to open more markets to more American products and services.
Because when Americans are able to do business around the globe, that can create jobs here at home.
We look forward to working diligently with our counterparts to make the APEC meeting a success and we very much look forward to 2011 when we will be hosting the APEC meeting in the United States."
