Thank you, Israel Hernandez. Good morning everyone. It’s my privilege to welcome you to the inaugural Americas Competitiveness Forum.
Mayor Franklin, let me begin by thanking the city of Atlanta and the state of Georgia, for its gracious hospitality.
In 2005, following the Summit of the Americas, President Bush recommended that a high-level conference on improving regional competitiveness be convened.
We’re honored to have with us today government and private sector officials from 30 countries in the Western Hemisphere.
I’ve had the good fortune of working and doing business in both North and Latin America since the 1970s.
So, like many of you, I can recall what the commercial climate was like a generation ago. And I see the changes that are taking place.
Over recent decades, nearly all of the Western Hemisphere has progressed in significant ways.
The World Economic Forum’s 2006-2007 Global Competitiveness Report places only six Latin American/Caribbean countries in the top half (out of 125 countries). Five ranked in the bottom quarter.
This is what brings us together today. We in the Americas need to continue building strategic partnerships and regional economic frameworks to remain globally competitive. And we need to do this to extend the benefits of democracy throughout the Hemisphere.
Working together to promote open markets, create jobs and encourage investment is strongly in the long-term best interest of all our citizens. When countries are prosperous and peaceful, there is security, opportunity and hope. Businesses and families can plan for the future.
In bringing together over 900 government and private-sector decision makers, this forum presents a unique opportunity for us to generate new forward momentum in the Western Hemisphere.
Our goal here is to have a dynamic discussion of ideas on growing economies and expanding opportunities throughout the region.
This forum offers nearly two dozen “break-out” sessions structured to provide real-world examples of successful policies, strategies and market possibilities that will increase our region’s competitive advantage.
For example, World Bank research points out that during the 1990s, incomes in developing countries that lowered trade barriers the most, grew three times faster than incomes in countries that remained closed.
In the United States, we’ve negotiated free trade agreements with 12 countries in the Western Hemisphere.
Our regional trade agreements—starting with NAFTA, then Chile and most recently with CAFTA—have delivered results.
Countries in the Asia-Pacific are also driving toward regionalism at an accelerated pace. For example: We recognize there is no “one size fits all” solution to regional challenges. But there are common issues that can be addressed to improve competitiveness. And there are best practices which can be shared and adopted.
Our focus during this week’s forum is on four important elements of competitiveness: First is education and workforce development. There’s no better investment than that in human capital and a skilled workforce.
The Americas have made great strides in improving literacy and primary and secondary school completion rates. And college enrollment rates have increased.
But there are still places throughout the hemisphere where children are not in school. This educational divide is perpetuating income inequality and poverty.
Future hemispheric competitiveness depends on improving education. We need to ensure that in the Americas every boy and girl has access to a decent school.
Second is innovation. Innovation drives wealth and higher standards of living.
Innovation happens when we take the discoveries made in a laboratory—in nanotechnology, biomedicine, aerospace and other areas—and introduce them into the marketplace.
But innovation also happens outside of a lab. Innovations can be slight changes in a product, process or in a small business which serve to provide opportunities where there were none and allow more people to participate.
Today, a piece of electronic equipment can have parts from three different continents, creating jobs around the globe where there none.
The creation and marketing of new products, processes and technologies is essential to maximizing productivity and keeping a nation on the cutting edge of global competitiveness.
In the United States, intellectual property accounts for over one-third of the value of all publicly traded U.S. corporations. This is an amount equal to almost half of the U.S. GDP.
Today, China and India are rapidly commercializing technological advances, educating highly skilled workforces, and offering world-class research opportunities.
In our region, there are examples of addressing these competitive challenges. One response is the technology village that CREATE Tech Village Corporation is establishing in Santiago, Chile to generate new U.S.-Chile research and academic partnerships. We need to do more.
The third element important for competitiveness is small business and entrepreneurship. Small businesses employ a large share of workers in the region.
The Index of Economic Freedom published by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal assesses a business climate based on: regulations; trade; fiscal policy; monetary policy; property rights; corruption; and labor conditions.
Higher levels of per capita GDP are typically associated with higher levels of economic freedom. Businesses must have the freedom to grow, trade, and create jobs to drive national prosperity.
I recently heard President Bush tell the story of an indigenous farmer in Guatemala. This man was struggling to feed his family. But he saw an opportunity in trade.
He organized an association of small farmers to grow high-value vegetables to sell overseas. They took out a loan to build an irrigation system. And eventually they were selling their crops to large companies like Wal-Mart Central America.
Today, Labradore Mayas’s internationally sold vegetables support more than a thousand jobs.
Many a success story starts as a dream. We need policies that will encourage and enable the dreamers and risk-takers to create new businesses and jobs, and to have the open markets to sell their goods and services throughout the hemisphere.
The fourth and final element is global supply chain strategies. No economy can be truly efficient if it imposes barriers that slow the movement of goods.
Companies must become competitive by ensuring they are using the most streamlined processes, advanced technologies and efficient networks.
Governments must ensure these businesses can compete globally by reducing technical, infrastructure and regulatory burdens that inhibit progress.
Efficiency and transparency in customs processes, licensing procedures and regulatory requirements will enable businesses to plan ahead, work effectively in multiple markets and succeed on a global scale.
Physical infrastructure is another area in which governments can help promote efficient supply chains.
China has recognized this reality. Investment in China’s transportation infrastructure grew at an annual rate of nearly 19 percent during 2001-2005. That included: Western Hemisphere countries can benefit by developing adequate roads, ports and other infrastructure and communications investment that allows companies to move goods, services and ideas cheaply and efficiently.
We are seeing it happen in “Highway 2000” in Jamaica, “Transmilenio” in Colombia, and Peruvian Customs Outsourcing.
Partnering in regional and global production enhances the comparative advantages and economic prospects of all countries and firms.
Today, every country in the world is competing for capital. Between 1991 and 2005, the Western Hemisphere’s share of world foreign direct investment declined slightly from 29 percent to 27 percent.
Capital will go to those markets that promote education, innovation and economic freedom. Capital will go to those markets that welcome trade and investment, the foundation of growth. When you have growth, everything is possible.
Our vision for the Western Hemisphere is one of growth and prosperity. Growth empowers people with the tools to take ownership and improve their lives. It promotes trade and investment. It encourages economic expansion.
Growth strengthens the delivery of true social justice, which we believe is about giving everyone an equal opportunity to succeed.
However, there is a competing vision, one that: In strengthening partnerships and competitiveness in the Americas, we can extend greater opportunity into every home, reduce need and hopelessness, and raise living standards for all of our citizens.
That is the true social justice, and that is the ultimate goal of this inaugural forum. I thank all of you for joining us. Thank you.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
