Baucus Works to Create U.S. Jobs, Increase Exports to Asia-Pacific Region at APEC Meetings

Washington, DC – As part of his efforts to help create more American jobs by increasing U.S. exports to fast-growing markets,  Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) headed today to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings he successfully fought to bring to Big Sky, MT.  By connecting U.S. businesses with the Trade and Small-and-Medium-Sized Enterprises Ministers attending the APEC meetings in Montana, Baucus is working to increase trade between the United States and the 20 other APEC member economies and making it easier for American small businesses to export to the quickly-expanding region.

“The Asia-Pacific region is the future for American exporters.  These economies are some of the fastest growing in the world, presenting huge potential for ranchers, farmers and manufacturers in Montana and across their country to create jobs by expanding their businesses,” Baucus said.  “These meetings will help us come together to break down trade barriers and make it cheaper, faster and easier for U.S. small businesses to export to these lucrative markets.”

APEC is a group of 21 member economies that joined together to facilitate economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the region.  Together, these economies represent more than half of the world economy and over 40 percent of world trade.  In 2009 alone, U.S. goods, services, and agriculture exports to the APEC region totaled about $1 trillion.  Baucus has been actively working to help achieve APEC’s goal of making trade in the region 25 percent cheaper, faster, and easier by 2015, noting in particular how important that reduction would be for small businesses in Montana and across the country.

Each year, a different APEC member economy hosts the APEC forum, which consists of a series of meetings on issues ranging from finance to trade.  This is the first time the U.S. is hosting the forum since 1993.  In December 2009, Baucus urged U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk and other senior Obama administration officials to host the 2011 Trade Ministers’ meeting in Big Sky to discuss ways to deepen the Asia-Pacific trade and economic relationship. 

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