speeches
American Chamber of Commerce in Germany New Year's Reception
Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr.
Berlin
January 23, 2006
Thank you, Ludwig,
Minister Mueller, Parliamentary Secretary Woehrl, State Secretary Adamowitsch, State Secretary Pfaffenbach, State Secretary Shariot, Members of the Bundestag, President Fred Irwin,
Friends and members of the American Chamber of Commerce,
It is a pleasure to join you this evening at your New Year’s reception. Thank you for the invitation to address this distinguished gathering. It gives me the opportunity to express the Embassy’s gratitude to the transatlantic business community for your support in 2005, and to wish you all the best in 2006.
During the past several months, I have spoken with many of you about the positive direction of U.S.-German relations. I pointed out that upon completion of the formation of the new German government that relationship would be stronger than ever and the transatlantic flow of government people crossing the ocean between Germany and the U.S. would be impressive. I believe I have been correct on both accounts.
Finally, earlier this month, I had the honor of participating in the very successful visit of Chancellor Merkel to Washington. The Chancellor and President Bush had a chance to spend more than 3 hours of quality time together. In fact, both the duration and personal content of their discussions are symbolic, in my estimation, of a new era of dialogue and friendship. The President was very pleased.
Their discussions were wide ranging, covering both issues of high importance to our two countries, as well as personal insights, such as Chancellor Merkel's recollections of her experiences growing up in the former East Germany. The President was deeply impressed and commented afterwards that those who have lived under tyranny place an extraordinarily high value on freedom.
Chancellor Merkel and President Bush found common ground on many issues, paving the way for stronger and more concerted transatlantic action. They spoke of strengthening our economies and intensifying trade as the surest way to create meaningful and well-paying jobs at home as well as stronger growth in developing countries. These two leaders know very well that pooling the entrepreneurial strengths of the world’s strongest economies is the best and most effective way to address the political and economic challenges we face globally.
Ladies and gentleman, we have serious issues to confront in the coming year – ranging from terrorism to nuclear proliferation to avian influenza to re-energizing global economies -- but I believe that in reaffirming our close ties, as Chancellor Merkel and President Bush did on January 13, we are off to a great start in 2006. We are also on solid ground with organizations like AmCham, which, during tough times and good times, have been mainstays in promoting our economic relationship. The President recognizes your contributions and I bring special greetings from President Bush to all those who are part of the German-American economic relationship.
As we reflect back on 2005, Germany and the United States have made significant, but often overlooked progress in a number of areas. As the two largest troop-contributing countries, we helped provide security so that Afghans could go to the polls on September 18 -- the same day as Germany did -- and elect the first democratic parliament they have had in decades. We appreciate German programs in the UAE for training Iraqi security forces. Democratic institutions are slowly but surely being established in Iraq. America also looks back with gratitude and appreciation for the support Germany provided to us in the aftermath of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. I would like to take this opportunity to again thank the business community for its generosity.
In 2006, we face new challenges, most notably finding ways to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The United States joins the European Union and other members of the international community in condemning the remarks the Iranian President made about Israel. Our concern about Iran's history of hiding its nuclear activities from the IAEA, has now been compounded by Iran's resumption of enrichment-related activities in contravention of agreements it reached with the IAEA and with Germany France and Great Britain. The U.S. and Germany view these events with grave concern, but are working closely together to find a peaceful resolution.
As a clear indication of our intensifying diplomatic and trade relations, United States Secretary of Commerce Gutierrez arrives tomorrow for a series of high-level discussions with Minister of Economic Affairs Glos, Minister of Foreign Affairs Steinmeier and with key members of the U.S. and German business community. This is the first visit of a Secretary of Commerce to Germany in a number of years and I am certain that there are many more cabinet-level visitors to follow.
For the near future, we will be working with Germany to achieve a successful completion of the Doha round. Trade in agriculture will be an especially daunting challenge, requiring bold and decisive action. The U.S. has already made a far-reaching offer to reduce agricultural tariffs and subsidies. Moreover, we are urging emerging markets such as Brazil and India to broaden access to their manufactured goods market. We look forward to Germany -- as the world's leading exporter -- playing a leading role in the Doha talks, especially in paving the way within the EU for lower tariff barriers on farm goods.
With respect to the EU, there is a developing partnership between the U.S. and the EU concerning trade with China and public investment in the development of future energy technologies – to name a few -- where Germany plays a decisive role.
Let me close here by emphasizing one of the key messages coming out of the meeting between President Bush and Chancellor Merkel -- the importance of honest and direct dialogue between long time friends. The business community lives by this code with demonstrated results. That is the basis and spirit on which we have succeeded in the past, and that will be the key to the successful future of U.S.-German relations.
