Bethlehem Steel confirmed that chairman
and chief executive officer Curtis H. Barnette
is a member of the President's Advisory Committee
for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN)

Bethlehem Steel Corporation
For Immediate Release

BETHLEHEM, Pa., November 4, 1999 -- In response to media inquiries, Bethlehem Steel Corporation confirmed that chairman and chief executive officer Curtis H. Barnette is a member of the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN) and was a co-signer of a letter to President Clinton on major trade policies pertinent to the upcoming World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference.

Mr. Barnette was appointed to ACTPN by President Bush in 1989 and 1991 and by President Clinton in 1994 and 1997.

A copy of the letter follows.

October 25, 1999

The Honorable William J. Clinton
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

The President�s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN) at its meeting on September 28, 1999 expressed broad support for the attached U.S. agenda for the World Trade Organization Ministerial to be held in Seattle, Washington, November 30-December 3, 1999. As you know, ACTPN is the principal, Congressionally-mandated advisory body to you and the U.S. Trade Representative on matters concerning national trade policy and trade negotiations. Its 35 members represent American interests including agriculture, business, labor, environment and consumers.

ACTPN met three times during 1999. Each meeting was devoted entirely to discussing and examining issues pertinent to the upcoming WTO Ministerial. At our final meeting, we reviewed the attached U.S. agenda for this Ministerial in detail.

While, not surprisingly, all of our members are not in agreement on every element of this agenda, a strong majority (indicated by the signatories to this letter) believe that the U.S. negotiating agenda as a whole is bold and appropriately comprehensive. We believe that if achieved, it will result in better jobs, higher living standards and increased economic opportunities for all Americans.

We agree the WTO is the appropriate forum to expand new trade opportunities, reduce trade barriers, and enforce existing trade agreements through a rules-based trading regime.

We support the emphasis by the United States on increasing market access and reducing market distortions for our agricultural goods and industrial products. In services, U.S. goals include obtaining a significant expansion of market access and national treatment commitments.

We underscore the importance of ensuring that the WTO take the most trade-liberalizing approach in the area of electronic commerce and achieving transparency in government procurement. We agree that the time is not ripe for negotiations in the areas of competition policy and investment and support the U.S. views that there should be no reopening of the Antidumping Agreement.

We agree that a successful conclusion to the negotiations must generate broadly shared benefits for the U.S. economy and its citizens, and to that end the agenda calls for increasing transparency, openness and accountability within the WTO; strengthening the dispute settlement procedures; continuing to work within the WTO to foster win-win strategies for trade and the environment; and, as mandated by statute, seeking to establish a working party in the WTO on core labor standards and trade. The U.S. government must further ensure that any agreements enable the United States to maintain its own high standards for the environment, labor, health and safety.

As I indicated, this letter reflects a majority endorsement of the agenda and the Committee�s broad agreement on the challenges that must be confronted in the global economy and the WTO�s role in this effort.

As ACTPN Members we will continue to work with the Administration to ensure that the WTO is strengthened as an institution by focusing on traditional values of fairness, transparency and openness that are the hallmark of our society.

Finally, the Members of ACTPN applaud the dedicated work of Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky and her interagency team on the U.S. agenda and will assist them in any way we can to achieve the U.S. priorities.

John E. Pepper, The Procter & Gamble Company
Chairman

The President�s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN)

ACTPN Members

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