Locke Says Enforcement Will Help U.S. Double Exports

(Reuters – Doug Palmer)

The United States will insist other countries honor commitments to open their markets as it strives to meet President Barack Obama’s goal of doubling exports during the next five years, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said on Thursday.

“Free trade only works in a system of rules where all parties live up to their obligations,” Locke said in the prepared text of a speech he was to give detailing Obama’s National Export Initiative, or NEI. “The United States is committed to a rules-based trading system where the American people and the Congress can feel confident that when we sign an agreement that gives foreign countries the privilege of free and fair access to our domestic market, we are treated the same.”

Locke did not direct his comments at China or any country by name. But Obama made clear on Wednesday the United States planned to keep up pressure on Beijing. “The approach that we’re taking is trying to get much tougher about enforcement of existing rules, putting constant pressure on China and other countries to open up their markets in reciprocal ways,” he told Democratic senators. Read more here.