17 April 1997
Journal of Commerce

440 US companies form group to fight sanctions

Study shows billions lost in exports

Caterpillar's chief says the group was formed to stop the government from undermining U.S. performance and leadership.

WASHINGTON - A group of 440 U.S. companies and businesses associations launched a new coalition Wednesday to oppose the imposition of unilateral trade and foreign policy sanctions by the U.S. government.

USA-Engage was formally unveiled at a press conference along with a study concluding that U.S. exports to 26 countries were cut by $15 billion to $20 billion in 1995 because of U.S. economic sanctions against these countries.

Donald V. Fites, chairman and chief executive of Caterpillar Inc. and chairman of the Business Roundtable, said, "We have organized because the evidence is clear: The proliferation of U.S. unilateral economic sanctions undermines American leadership and competitiveness, costs U.S. jobs, and results in significant losses to the U.S. economy." James E. Perrella, chairman of Ingersoll-Rand and chairman of the National Foreign Trade Council said the new group, "is founded on the core belief that American values are best advanced by engagement, rather than isolating ourselves, ceding markets to foreign competition, or angering allies through the use of secondary boycotts and extraterritorial actions."

Flanked by key congressional supporters, the executives specifically cited a handful of recent or contemplated U.S. sanctions as examples of their concern.

"It's no accident that at a time when the U.S. is contemplating new unilateral sanctions against China, Indonesia and Burma (formerly known as Myanmar), our biggest competitor - Kamatsu of Japan - is making important new investments in these countries," Mr. Fites of Caterpillar said.

"We're also finding that our European, and Japanese competitors are taking advantage of the recent U.S. sanctions against Columbia," he added.

Dean Kleckner, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the sanctions being considered against China, Indonesia and Myanmar would mean "killing our chances" for increased agricultural and other sales to those countries.

The group said unilateral sanctions should be used only as a last resort and only after consideration of their potential effectiveness and their impact on other national interests. The study released at the press conference was conducted by the Institute for International Economics, a private research group here. The institute calculated that the $15 billion to $20 billion reduction in 1995 exports because of sanctions involved the loss of up to 250,000 U.S. jobs.

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