Rob Portman Quotes (113 Quotes)

There the responsibility at this point rests squarely with the European Union and their ability to come forward with a proposal that is meaningful and credible on market access,

Given the short time before the Hong Kong ministerial, the E.U.'s lack of urgency is very concerning. They, like the U.S., have a responsibility to help move the talks forward with a strong, ambitious proposal. We've done our part, and the U.S. will continue pushing for the E.U. to do theirs.

Only days after we fully complied with a NAFTA decision, Canada responds by announcing huge new subsidies. Canada's actions illustrate what the United States has been saying all along the Canadian industry is the beneficiary of subsidies that create an un-level playing field to the detriment of the U.S. industry.

This agreement is a win-win situation for U. S. and EU winemakers, helping to establish predictable conditions for bilateral wine trade,

which are critical to ensuring strong support in Congress.

Soon US farmers, manufacturers and service providers will enjoy new opportunities in this growing market. The agreement also marks a milestone in strengthening ties and promoting freedom in the Middle East.

Clearly there are differences of opinion it would be hard to breach before the Hong Kong talks,

Overall, our U. S.-China trade relationship today lacks equity, durability and balance.

There is no need for our trading partners to be concerned, ... Trade will continue and harvest will move.

The U.S. today is taking a risk ... It is stepping forward, and it is my sincere hope that it (the plan) will jump-start the talks.

At this point, where we are, unless the EU steps forward on agriculture, emerging developing countries including India and Brazil and others will not step forward on industrial tariffs and services, and the United States, frankly will not be able to deliver on its proposal regarding subsidies with the conditionality expressed in our agreement.

It's an opportunity to take stock of where we are, but also again we'd hoped it would have been an opportunity to make some tough decisions on at the least the framework for discussions going forward.

If we can't agree next week on agriculture, I can't see how we'll meet the December deadline, ... The clock is ticking.

The facts on agricultural biotechnology are clear and compelling. We believe agricultural biotechnology products should be provided a timely, transparent and scientific review by the European Union, and that is why Canada, Argentina and the United States brought the case in the first place.

We will never be able to proceed if the EU doesn't quickly show substantially more flexibility on market access and help us set an overall parameter for the agriculture negotiations,

On the heels of the G-20 and Australian offerings on sensitive products, we hope to see much more ambition from the EU. The current EU proposal allows for 8 percent of tariffs, 160 different tariff lines, to be deemed 'sensitive' and thus exempt from strong cuts,

This agreement represents progress for Saudi Arabia, the US and the WTO.

We always come closer every time we talk.

The promotion of peaceful commerce with the region and among Middle East states will help end the political turmoil and economic stagnation that has for too long limited the opportunities for people in that region.

This is a good day for the people of Oman and the United States. With our signatures today, we cement our long-standing friendship and growing commercial ties, and create new economic opportunities for both of our countries.

It appears that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is making a genuine effort to reform its economy and adopt the rule of law,

The study examines scenarios of less than full trade liberalization as well as full liberalization. In its less than full liberalization scenarios, the Carnegie study finds some developing countries may suffer net welfare losses. One reason welfare benefits are not larger is the gains from trade liberalization in services are not measured in this study. Also, the static rather than dynamic model in this study limits the measurement of net welfare gains because it does not include estimates of the economic growth effects of trade liberalization.

The United States is deeply concerned by the violations of intellectual property rights in China,

Malaysia has been at the forefront of the economic dynamism transforming Asia in recent years. This FTA would be the third we are negotiating in the economically vibrant and strategically important Southeast Asia region.

This is not the time for take it or leave it proposals,

The advice he gives the president, I hear constantly, is the single most important advice the president gets,

As a mature trading partner, China should be held accountable for its actions and required to live up to its responsibilities, including opening markets and enforcing intellectual property rights. We will use all options available to meet this challenge.

I had the opportunity to meet with her very briefly last night and was very impressed with her willingness to engage on the topic.

I'm not encouraged. We did not make adequate progress. We made incremental, but not adequate progress.

I'm disappointed because we haven't seen much progress on market access. Time is running out.

A key goal of the US in the Doha negotiations is to eliminate tariffs on manufactured products in all sectors. This agreement will serve as a shot in the arm for these talks.

I was very impressed with her willingness to engage. I'm hopeful that she can help us to come together with an agreement this year.

We have informed Congress that the United States does intend to appeal the panel decision, ... We believe that the (WTO panel) report contains errors of law that provide grounds for the appeal to the WTO appellate body.

I'm seeing a little bit of a different spirit today. You see people coming together this morning as we discussed to say this ought to be a single-undertaking and we ought to work to bring all of these issues together including trade facilitation, development and rules into one package. Not you go first, then I'll go, but rather we need to do it simultaneously together.

Congress is keenly aware that our agriculture proposal has real consequences. We won't be able to leave our proposal that is on the table now intact if others don't make comparable offers to open their markets and reduce their subsidies.

Our talks today were frank, constructive and embraced the spirit of President Bush's challenge,

Portman, speaking after the meeting, said it was proving difficult to balance the demands of many different countries. There are 148 members of the World Trade Organization, which reaches decisions through consensus. Without having all the pieces of the puzzle together, ... it is difficult to agree on one piece.

We don't believe the world community will let this once-in-a-generation opportunity slip past us,

For the first time, I see real movement toward having a successful meeting in Hong Kong.

The problem is that this round from its inception has had agriculture at its centerpiece. The EU and the U. S. and other WTO members cannot wish that away, that is a reality,

On the other hand, the US is absolutely willing to walk away from a bad deal,

The United States is committed to breaking the deadlock in multilateral talks on agriculture and unleashing the potential of the Doha Round,

This win sends a powerful signal to the region and the world that the United States will continue to lead in opening markets and leveling the playing field.

I believe this kind of dedicated, country-specific enforcement team is needed to improve China's compliance with its obligations.

We hope to bring Colombia and Ecuador into this agreement as soon as they are ready so that no one misses out on the benefits of trade.

This round, from its inception, has had agriculture as its centerpiece. The E. U., and the United States, cannot wish that away.

We ought to go out and find someone who has re-engineered, in my view, a major and complex organization from the private sector. I hope someone like that would be willing to step forward and take on this task.

However, we will not consider changes to our own programs unless the other WTO (World Trade Organization) members commit to open their markets to our goods and agree to reduce their own subsidy and trade-distorting programs,

This is not something where we can -- as the EU and the U. S. have unsuccessfully tried in the past -- come up with an agreement for everyone,

An agreement with Peru is a key building block in our strategy to advance free trade within our hemisphere. We hope to later bring in the other Andean countries including Colombia and Ecuador.