For Immediate Release October 7, 2004 Contact: John Goyer (202) 289-7460 x22 Coalition of Service Industries Calls for Concentrated Effort by Negotiators, Industry to Realize Services Liberalization in Global Trade Talks Meaningful multilateral liberalization of trade in services has been made possible by the recent revitalization of the Doha Round of global trade talks, and a concentrated effort by trade negotiators and industry is now needed to make this possibility a reality. The Board of Directors of the Coalition of Service Industries (CSI) today called on U.S. trade negotiators to give their concentrated effort to the difficult task of achieving serious new liberalization of global services trade. In a statement released today after its meeting, the Board complemented the U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Zoellick, for achieving a breakthough and restarting the "Doha Round," and for completing a number of bilateral trade agreements containing good commitments which should surely influence the WTO negotiations. The CSI Board called on Congress to: implement the pending agreements with the Central American republics and Bahrain enact FSC/ETI reform as soon as possible defeat efforts to amend Federal law to restrict the ability of companies and governments to source globally to reaffirm US membership in the WTO and to extend trade promotion authority when it comes up for renewal next year. Addressing difficult issues in services trade negotiations, the CSI Board stressed that “movement of natural persons is essential" to U.S. services trade and underscored the need to obtain Congressional support. CSI’s statement pointed out that the regulation of services at the state, as opposed to federal, level has become a focal point in negotiations as U.S. trading partners seek greater access to these markets. CSI called on USTR to lead an aggressive outreach effort to the states, led by a senior official dedicated to this task. Bill Toppeta, Gary Schmalzriedt Elected to CSI Board of Directors CSI also announced the election of two prominent business leaders to its Board of Directors: Bill Toppeta, President, International, of MetLife Inc., and Gary Schmalzriedt, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, ACE Overseas General. Norman Sorensen, Chairman of the Board, noted the accomplishments of both these executives and said "they will add considerable depth of experience in global markets to CSI's program". Mr. Toppeta is responsible for MetLife’s insurance and employee benefits businesses outside the United States, and is also a member of MetLife’s Executive Group, which he joined in 1997. Mr. Schmalzriedt joined ACE in 1999 as part of the acquisition of CIGNA’s international property and casualty operations, and is responsible for ACE’s operations in Latin America, Europe and the Asia Pacific. # # # # # CSI is the leading business organization dedicated to reducing barriers to U.S. services exports and mobilizing support for domestic U.S. policies, including tax policies, which enhance the global competitiveness of its members. CSI was formed in 1982 to ensure that U.S. trade in services would become a central goal of U.S. trade policy and trade negotiations. It played a major role in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and in the advocacy effort leading to the 1997 World Trade Organization (WTO) Basic Telecommunications and Financial Services Agreements. CSI’s knowledge of the process of services trade negotiations, its ties to the WTO and its network of relationships with governments and industry in other countries are unmatched. For a complete list of CSI members, visit our website at www.uscsi.org.