PROCLAMATION 7311—MAY 19, 2000 114 STAT. 3309 hours a day, 7 days a week, that allows even the smallest company to conduct business on a global scale. My Administration has worked hard to encourage America's businesses and workers to embrace this worldwide web of opportirndty and its potential to enhance productivity at home and access to markets abroad. By investing in research and development, improving the quality of science and mathematics education in our schools, teaching workers new skills to fill jobs in the technology sector, and keeping e- commerce fair, safe, and competitive, we can stimulate our export industries, sustain this remarkable period of growth and prosperity, and ensure America's continued leadership in the global economy. This week, when the Congress takes up legislation to grant Permanent Normal Trade Relations status to the People's Republic of China, it will have an opportunity to further the progress we have made in building strong trading relationships. PNTR for China will increase America's competitiveness in the global marketplace, reduce tariffs, and give American workers and farmers imprecedented access to China's more than one billion consumers. Worid trade, whether conducted in person, on paper, or on line, remains a cornerstone of American economic grow. But even more important, trade plays a vital role in improving opportunity and prosperity around the globe. Free and fair international trade is one of the most effective tools we have to bring people together, raise living standards in developed and developing nations alike, promote human dignity, and improve long-term prospects for democracy, stability, and world peace. NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 21 through May 27, 2000, as World Trade Week. I invite the people of the United States to observe this week with events, trade shows, and educational programs that celebrate the benefits of international trade to our economy and our world. IN WITNESS WHEREOF. I have herexmto set my hand this nineteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth. WILLIAM J. CLINTON Proclamation 7311 of May 19, 2000 Small Business Week, 2000 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation The men and women who own and operate our Nation's 25 million small businesses have made, and continue to make, an indispensable contribution to America's economic strength and success. These entrepreneurs possess many of the characteristics that have always defined the American spirit: a fierce independence, an extraordinary work
�
