Governors Notebook

WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer
AP Online
08-06-2001
Governors Notebook

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- The United States is falling behind other nations in the industrialized world in the area of free trade, the U.S. trade representative warned the nation's governors Monday.

``An adequate U.S. trade strategy is essential,'' said trade representative Robert Zoellick. ``Frankly, the United States has been falling behind.''

Zoellick told governors at the summer meeting of the National Governors Association that America's allies are moving more aggressively on trade.

``The European Union now has 27 bilateral free trade and customs agreements, 20 of which it negotiated in the 1990s while we've been sitting on our hands,'' he said.

Zoellick said there are more than 100 free trade agreements around the world and the United States is involved in very few.

``In each of these agreements, people are setting the rules of the future,'' he said. ``If you're not playing in the game, you have a hard time setting the rules.''

Zoellick asked the governors to urge members of Congress to back President Bush's efforts to gain broad trade authority that was denied President Clinton.

``We need your help and we need it now,'' he told the governors. ``Members of Congress need to hear about this during the August recess.''

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Once he becomes NGA chairman, Michigan Gov. John Engler plans to continue finding new ways for states to streamline government by offering services online.

Engler was one of several governors participating in Monday afternoon's session on how to build a better ``e-government.''

Russ Meekins, a partner in the consulting firm Accenture, told the group a state could save as much as $250 million a year by letting people use the Internet for everything from registering their cars to getting hunting licenses.

``It's all about service for our citizens. How do we get rid of lines?'' Engler said. ``All states have lots for room for improvement.''

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Nonprofit arts projects produce an annual $36.8 billion worth of business, 1.3 million full-time jobs and over $5 billion in revenue for local, state and federal governments, says an NGA report.

That makes them a potent force for economic development, says an ``issue brief'' of the NGA's Center for Best Practices.

The figures were put together with the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Association of State Arts Agencies.

Elko, Nev., for example, got an NEA grant in 1985 for a Cowboy Poetry Gathering. The event now attracts 8,000 visitors and brings $6 million into town.

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Associated Press Writers Carl Hartman in Washington and Kathy Barks Hoffman in Providence contributed to this story.

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