TRANSCRIPT OF AMBASSADOR TAYLOR'S REMARKS TO THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
AT THEIR 15TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Kyiv, April 5, 2007
First of all, I want to congratulate Jorge [Zukoski], the board of the American Chamber, many of whom are sitting right here, and the members of the American Chamber of Commerce here in Kyiv, for 15 years of service to this country, to their members, for the people of Ukraine, and I have to say that the U.S. Government has benefited from all the work that you've done. So, Jorge, you and your team, thank you very much.
You've grown, as you've said, from small beginnings to 500 members or so. That's impressive. It's also impressive, as you said, that you represent many countries, and I have had the opportunity to see many of my colleagues - Ambassadors from other countries that are here who have members in your organization - and I'm very pleased that they are here with us today.
Last year, 2006, was a very good year for the United States and Ukraine. What the Secretary of Commerce would have said about 2006 was that it, the Department of Commerce, granted Ukraine Market Economy Status; Congress voted to graduate Ukraine from the Jackson-Vanik amendment; we concluded a WTO market access agreement (I'll have something more to say about WTO in a moment); the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the Government of Ukraine signed an initial agreement for $45 million to focus on fighting corruption; Ukraine was also selected in the larger Millenium Challenge Account, which could be $500 million or more, to address issues having to do with economic development and poverty alleviation in this country in a way that the government and the people of Ukraine will decide; finally, last year the Ukrainian Government's efforts to protect intellectual property, an issue very important to everybody in this room, allowed the United States to restore Ukraine's Generalized System of Preferences and change its status under U.S. trade law.
So, last year was a very good year. What's going on now?
I mentioned the World Trade Organization. Let me be very clear to my Ukrainian governmental colleagues, as well as everybody else in this room, the United States is a strong supporter of Ukraine's succession to the WTO. We think it's important for Ukraine to join the rules based organization that, as Jorge said, is the hallmark of a market economy that can compete in the world market. This is very important for Ukraine. We think it's very important for other nations in this region to see that Ukraine is moving towards international organizations that work by the rule of law. Internal laws to the WTO in this case, but other laws and other institutions as well.
We think, and the United States Government thinks, that Ukraine's present and its future are solidly rooted in Europe. We don't think there's a dispute about that location in Europe and that adoption of Europe and attempts to achieve European standards and European values. So the World Trade Organization is a first step, an important first step. It's very important because it leads to the second step which is a free trade agreement between Ukraine and Europe. And again, our sense is that that's where Ukraine should be - in Europe - and I'm very pleased to see some of our European ambassadorial colleagues here. And we are not at all shy to say that the United States is very supportive of Ukraine's place in Europe, and I'm sure that many, but not all, of my European colleagues will echo exactly those words.
Let me say that there are some challenges, and I would, of course, be remiss if I didn't talk about some of the challenges.
The biggest one that we're all facing today is this turmoil, as Jorge described it, between the President and the Prime Minister. I am not one who believes this cannot be solved. I believe this can be solved. I believe that there will be a solution to this problem between the President and the Prime Minister. I believe that there are still three options that the government and the President can pursue. Certainly one is new elections, as the President has proposed, but there's also the Constitutional Court which will have a role, I suspect, in the solution to this, and finally there could be a compromise. The President and the Prime Minister might be able to compromise.
Our sense, the United States Government sense, is that none of those are ruled out. We don't express a preference among those three. We do expect that the Ukrainian people and Ukrainian government - all parts of the government - will act responsibly. So far, they've been acting fairly responsibly. Everyone has seen the crowds in the street. Everyone saw the crowds in the street last Saturday at two different squares, one at European square and just a couple blocks up on the Maidan, could not have been better organized, couldn't have been better behaved. I had my own preference in the music that was in one or the other, (however, there's no accounting for taste) but the impressive thing to me was that the people were there expressing their points of view very clearly, and there were political speeches and there were flags flying, but there was no violence. There was not a bit of violence.
I went to both. I went to the European Square first, it started a little earlier. I heard the Prime Minister speak. I thought I might have to take a long way around to get to the Maidan, but no, it was very easy, you just walk from European Square a couple blocks, through some barriers that were wide open. The police were there. The police were doing an extremely good job. They were there just in case anything happened and it was necessary for them to act - It wasn't. The barriers were open. If there were difficulties, they could have closed them. It was very professionally done. I was very impressed.. Different color flags on the Maidan, different kind of political speeches, but all very calm.
And that is the recommendation that we are making, and I know many of the international community represented here and in this city are making the same types of recommendations. Leaders of this country have been and need to continue to encourage and direct their followers to obey the law, to act peacefully, to express their views. This is a part of democracy, and I hope this is a period that Ukraine will get through. And as it does, if it is peaceful, then we can come out at the other side in a positive place.
That's the other thing that I would certainly recommend to the leaders of this country, and that is think about, this problem will end. All wars end, and this conflict will end. When it does, then there needs to be thought given now as to what the dynamic will be, what the coalition will be, what the political mood will be, and that will have some effect on what people say today. And if there is an election campaign, it will have some effect on what the campaigners will say, what the politicians say as they're campaigning. So, think about the future. If they think about the future, and what that coalition will look like, what the policies of this new government, or this old government if there's a compromise or a Constitutional Court decision, will be will be important for people in this room, it will be important for investors around the world, and most important, it will be important for the people of Ukraine.
You all work in Ukraine for yourselves and your companies, but you also are benefiting the people of Ukraine, and that's what the government needs to do - I believe will do - but that is something that they need to think about now as they go through this process.
The government continues to work. The government has some challenges before it. I mentioned the good things that happened between the United States and Ukraine last year. There are some challenges still. There are companies who are trying to do deals both privately and with the government that need some help, in particular, when they need a customs sharing agreement that has been in the works for a long time. Companies and oil and gas businesses around the world, many in this room as well, are watching to see how the government deals with a contract that's gone to a company, and can that company now get a production-sharing agreement. I'm sure Kostyantyn Gryshchenko who is going to speak sometime later on this evening is going to tell us good news about this, so I will set him up for that.
There's another challenge that many people in this room know about as well, and that is the grain quotas. We've got good news and bad news. The government did intervene in the grain market as everybody in this room knows. As we all know, of the three main grains that were affected, the export quotas have been removed from two, but they have not been removed yet from wheat. That's a challenge. That will be difficult.
The government is going to have to make some final adjustments to world trade organization compliance laws. So, again, thinking about how the government deals with this conflict, and whether it's a new election or whether it's a compromise, or whether it's a constitutional court decision, the ability for Ukraine to get into the World Trade Organization is going to depend on some final action on the Rada sooner or later, and if they act sooner, then WTO can happen sooner for Ukraine. If they act later, it will be delayed, so that is also a challenge.
Let me, Jorge, follow your good example and stop soon here, because I know people would like to eat and there are other people who are going to speak. I want to say that the United States government has people working very hard from our Embassy to help business and help investment in Ukraine, and I'm hoping that a couple of my colleagues from the Embassy are here, and maybe they will stand up so you can see them. See these folks? They have plenty of business cards. They are here to help you, as am I. What we are here to do is encourage and support investment in Ukraine, exports from Ukraine, and an economic development in this country that is good for you and is good for the people in Ukraine.
And in that final note, the work that Jorge and the Chamber have done over the past 15 years has been aimed at that, and I hope that they will be around for another 15 or more so that we can continue that good work.
Jorge, thank you very much.