PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release                                                                     .................................Contact: Bob Vastine September 9, 2005                                                                       ........................................(202) 289-7460 Service Industry Supports US Agreement on Saudi Arabia’s WTO Accession Washington – Norman Sorensen, Chairman of the Coalition of Service Industries (CSI) and President of Principal International, commended today’s signature of the US Agreement to Saudi Arabia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). “This high-quality agreement provides substantial benefits to the US services sector and underscores Saudi determination to promote economic development through free trade and investment,” said Mr. Sorensen.  The Saudi accession agreement is the result of a difficult, protracted negotiation started in 1993. Under this agreement, Saudi Arabia will provide commercially meaningful commitments in key services sectors, including financial services, telecommunications, energy, professional, business and related services, express delivery, distribution, transportation, audiovisual, environmental, and hotel and restaurant services. The role of services in the U.S. and world economies has increased in the last decade. Currently, services comprise 80% of U.S. private sector GDP, 75% of the private sector’s employment, and 30% of all our exports. Mr. Sorensen noted that this agreement is an important benchmark in President Bush’s Middle East Free Trade Area Initiative, which is designed to foster economic growth and political stability through free trade. “Because the accession agreement requires increased regulatory transparency we expect it to strengthen the application of the rule of law in Saudi Arabia,” said Mr. Sorensen. “ Saudi Arabia’s agreement will also support US efforts to obtain equally good accession agreements with Russia, Vietnam and other countries seeking accession,” Sorensen said. A summary of Saudi Arabia’s WTO commitments in services is available at the CSI website, www.uscsi.org. # # # # PDF Version Click here to view a summary of Saudi Arabia's offer