speeches and text
Thanksgiving Dinner
Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr.
Düsseldorf
November 30, 2006
As prepared for delivery.
Members and friends of the Dűsseldorf Industrie-Club and the Steuben-Schurz Gesellschaft,
Sue and I would like to thank you for the invitation to join you for this Thanksgiving dinner. For decades, your clubs have played important roles in the economic, political and cultural scene in the Rhine-Ruhr area, making many outstanding contributions to German-American relations. You have positively affected the lives of many people in both our countries – I commend you for that. I understand this is your first combined Thanksgiving dinner. I hope it is the start of a long tradition.
Special holidays to give thanks are not uniquely American, but Thanksgiving is something very special for the people of my country. It embodies a tradition of giving and sharing that goes back to the earliest days of our history. It is a time when family, friends, and loved ones come together to give thanks for the freedoms and many blessings we enjoy. Sue and I welcome the opportunities we have had to share Thanksgiving with new friends in Germany.
Our family has much to be thankful for. My great-grandfather left Germany with his family at the age of seven. He worked hard and went on to found what would become a global company with branches in 26 countries around the world. The Timken Company and the private sector was my life for 43 years until President Bush asked us to do this job. I have had years of first-hand experience in transatlantic and global business. Now as Ambassador to Germany, I have the opportunity to see the transatlantic relationship from a different perspective. I have come to appreciate even more what government and business can achieve through partnership.
At the Embassy, we have been very encouraged by the generous response from the private sector and other organizations in support of a new Embassy exchange program -- “Windows on America.” “Windows on America” started right here in Düsseldorf. I would like to thank those involved here today again for your support. “Windows on America” is a two-week exchange program designed to give a more diverse segment of young people, especially minorities and those from less advantaged backgrounds, the opportunity to visit America. Time and time again, we hear how exchange experiences can change perspectives – and lives. It helps to make an American dream come true for young people who might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience another culture. We want to give young people a chance to see for themselves what America is about, and not to rely on the image of America provided by the media, movies and T.V.
Support of this initiative is in keeping with the spirit of good corporate citizenship that characterizes the best companies on both sides of the Atlantic. Excellence is not measured simply in terms of profits. Economies flourish when people flourish. Economic growth, democracy, development and peace are more deeply connected than ever before.
Since the end of the Cold War, no two parts of the world have experienced economic integration faster and more intensely than the U.S. and EU. Forty percent of world GDP and over one-third of global trade take place between the EU and the U.S. Increased investment, deeper economic integration, and more corporate partnerships all tie our business people, consumers, workers, and farmers together.
The transatlantic economic relationship between Germany and the United States is a perfect example. There are over 3,250 German companies in the U.S. with an annual turnover of $429 billion and more than 1,250 U.S. companies in Germany with a turnover of $214 billion. All together, these firms provide over 1.25 million jobs in our two countries.
Some of the most dynamic investment is happening in eastern Germany. Over one-third of all U.S. companies with investments in Germany have operations in the former GDR with investments totaling over $20 billion, producing jobs.
I would like to see business do more to highlight this kind of good news. The job creation that has resulted from large-scale U.S. investments in Europe is a success story that people need to hear about.
Companies have always played an essential role in promoting the global reach of free markets, free trade and free enterprise.
The private sector is where wealth is created – where ideas are transformed into innovations that increase productivity and support the wonderful standard of living we enjoy in America and most parts of Europe. In the future, with the expansion of globalization, I believe growth of the world economy will be even greater. Demand for goods will increase. People want to be more prosperous and to enjoy a higher standard of living. Increasing the size of the pie, not cutting the pie into smaller pieces, is the only way to satisfy mankind's desire for a better life.
Partnership with the private sector brings more than money to the table. It brings new levels of efficiency and expertise. Government policies and incentives can set the tone but innovation becomes a national priority only when it becomes a central part of the culture and of the way the business community operates. Ideas don't just enter the mainstream by themselves.
They need determined entrepreneurs and committed citizens to actively engage and work day in and day out, year after year. Often, one of the most important things governments can do is to get out of the way of the private sector by reducing unnecessary taxes and regulation.
For that reason, I am pleased that Chancellor Merkel plans to promote innovation and emphasize economic competitiveness during Germany’s upcoming EU presidency year.
In 2000, the EU committed itself to the Lisbon Agenda, a ten-year reform plan to transform the EU into a faster-growing, competitive, knowledge-based economy. Progress to date has been minimal. But reform is the only answer. Europe needs more flexible labor and capital markets, better protection of intellectual property, easier adoption of new technologies, and increased investment in people and research. A more innovative and competitive Europe is good for Europe.
It's also good for the transatlantic relationship and it's good for the world. We look forward to German leadership in advancing this agenda.
At the end of the day, we can only fully enjoy the opportunities and prosperity that new ideas, new manufacturing techniques, new services or consumer goods bring if we have the tools to take advantage of them.
Since the Second World War, opening markets for trade has been the single greatest engine of global economic growth. Germany has been the biggest beneficiary. Germany is the world's largest exporter and, as a result, the world's third largest economy.
Open markets are essential for economic growth. For that reason, we must make a serious effort to save the WTO Doha Round.
Free trade is at the center of President Bush's vision of a world of expanding economic opportunity, prosperity, and freedom. The recent Congressional elections in the United States will not change this Administration’s determination to lower trade barriers.
One of the good things about trade policy is that you can in fact have a win/win situation. As economies develop, there are going to be segments that will undergo radical change but you can grow that economic pie I referred to earlier. New opportunities arise.
Numerous studies show how global free trade could lift tens of millions out of poverty, and that there would be significant advantages for developing and developed countries alike. There is still time to reach a conclusion to the current Round, but your voices must be heard. European business must tell their politicians that failure in the current trade negotiations is unacceptable.
So at this Thanksgiving dinner, I would close by asking you to think about what you and your company can do to make the public aware of and supportive of the transatlantic relationship and the benefits it brings. I believe very strongly in the value of developing multiple connections between people to ensure that we not lose sight of our common goals. There are many ways we can create and foster these connections – in our companies, in our schools and libraries through new initiatives like “Windows on America” and “America @ yourlibrary” and through tried and true exchanges. As Konrad Adenauer, a son of the state of North Rhine Westphalia and one of the fathers of the transatlantic relationship, said, “When the world seems large and complex, we need to remember that great world ideals all begin in some home neighborhood.”
