President's Export Council Remarks on Receiving the Council's Final Report.

MR. JONES. Mr. President, it's a great pleasure for me and also a privilege to present to you this two-volume report from your Export Council. We have some two dozen members of the Export Council here, and after 17 months of work, they've produced this report which I think is appropriately entitled "The Export Imperative."

It's interesting that this is the fifth effort over the last 17 years to do something in this country about developing an export policy and an export program. This Council did not spend its time working assiduously to develop a report that would contain all the new things that could be done in terms of solutions to problems that didn't exist. Rather, this was an active working council working with your executive branch of Government, working assiduously on the Hill with the House Export Caucus and the Senate Export Caucus. I'm pleased to say that during the 17 months of its existence not a single piece of legislation, not a single executive branch action was taken that in any way impeded our improvement of exports. Rather, we had several significant victories that will, we believe, enhance our exports.

We concentrated our activities on, one, increasing national export consciousness so that the public would understand the need for improved exports. We felt that was vital at a time when we sensed this growing protectionism. And we must ward off protectionism. Secondly, we worked very hard at finding solutions to the so-called disincentives to exports. They're very practical, pragmatic, and politically feasible moves that we've suggested. And then finally, we worked at improving the incentives for exports, but not at cost to the Federal Treasury. There are things that can be done in line of incentives that we feel will be extraordinarily helpful.

And so, on behalf of the Council, Mr. President, may I present you with this report.

THE PRESIDENT. Thank you very much, Reg. I appreciate it.

Let me say first of all to Reg Jones and to Phil Klutznick, to all the members of the Export Council how deeply grateful I am for the work they've done. There's no doubt that when an assessment is made of what has been accomplished with their help, it's impressive and gratifying to me as President and beneficial to our Nation.

When I first went to meet with the other Western leaders I had long conversations with Chancellor Schmidt, with President Giscard d'Estaing, and with then Prime Minister Callaghan. Their belief was that the Multilateral Trade Negotiations were dead. But ultimately, because of the help of these men and women and the very deep commitment of the Congress, the good work of the Special Trade Representative, we have a Multilateral Trade Agreement that will bring rich dividends to our Nation, and indeed the entire world trade picture.

We have assiduously fought against protectionism, even though in every single instance, it's politically attractive to certain very powerful political groups to erect trade barriers to protect a particular community in our Nation or a particular community of workers or business. We have not done that. And I'm very thankful for it. We have, with the help of Phil Klutznick and others, reorganized the trade functions of the Federal Government so they are much more effective, much more efficient, much more clearly understandable by workers and by management in how the Federal Government can assist in the enhancement of export and trade.

We have aroused, I think perhaps more significantly, the interest of American business leaders, the free enterprise system, and also the trade union leaders in the advantages of exports. And at every level of government, the Governors, with George Busbee's great help, the key mayors around our Nation, as well as the Federal Government, has now realized that American exports are crucial to the well-being of our own economy. Agricultural exports have set world records every year since I've been in office. In spite of the restraint on trade with the Soviet Union, we have still set exemplary records in increasing new customers and the volume of trade with countries around the world.

One of the most significant developments now and potentially in the future is the new trade relationships that will be evolved with the People's Republic of China; a quarter of a billion people, onefourth of the total population on Earth, now are good, potential customers for us now and in the future. At the same time, since I've been in office we've almost tripled trade with the people of Taiwan. Mexico, Canada have become increasingly great trade partners for us. This Council has been playing a leadership role in the multiple relationships with Congress in how to enhance trade and how to enhance exports. This past quarter's record on our trade balance, current accounts balance, shows that it's the highest since 1975, the second highest favorable balance in the history of our Nation. And we will probably wind up this year, 1980, with a positive trade balance in spite of excessive imports of oil from overseas.

The last thing that I'd like to say is that I'm very grateful to these men and women for the dedicated work that they performed. This is a good report. I'm particularly eager to see a continuity guaranteed between my own administration and that of the next President. So, I will, through Executive order, extend the life of this Council for several months to give Governor Reagan a chance with his own administration to see the value of what has been accomplished in the past and the value, even more importantly, of what can be accomplished by this Council in the months ahead.

I'm deeply grateful to all the members who've served, particularly the Chairman, Reginald Jones. It's been a great boon for our Nation, in every community, so far as I know, in the entire country. And thank you all very much for being such an integral part of this tremendous progress both in attitude and tone and commitment and also the tangible results that have been so profoundly gratifying to me as President. Thank you very much.

I might comment as a postscript, I noticed that Senator Roth has come in representing the Senate and also Ed Muskie has come in. We had not only State and Commerce but also Agriculture, Labor, Treasury, Special Trade Representative, Export-Import Bank—the agencies of the Federal Government were brought together in a very close and cooperative fashion to work together, and I think this guaranteed that we spoke with a clear and single voice, guided by the Council members in a very effective way. And I want to thank all the members of my administration, Phil and you and Ed Muskie particularly, for the great work you've done. Ed, thank you.