George Voinovich: “I am very pleased with the efforts of Secretary of Commerce Thomas Gutierrez and my good friend Ambassador Rob Portman…”

“I am very pleased with the efforts of Secretary of Commerce Thomas Gutierrez and my good friend Ambassador Rob Portman at USTR to help several Ohio companies, victims of intellectual property theft abroad. They have shown the importance of enforcing our trade agreements and are committed to improving our enforcement record, especially in the area of property rights. I am very impressed by how much progress they have made during their short tenures in raising the issue of intellectual property rights abroad, and I am confident they will continue to work closely with Congress to address trade issues. Our trade policies are only as good as the people who execute them. I am pleased to say we have excellent leadership right now in Secretary Gutierrez and Ambassador Portman. They both have a good background on trade. Secretary Gutierrez has firsthand experience with trade issues due to his work as CEO of Kellogg. Ambassador Portman has unique knowledge of trade legislation as a result of his work as a member of the Ways and Means Committee while he was a Member of Congress. Recently, I sent a letter to the President asking him to appoint a coordinator for all of the agencies that deal with commerce--Commerce, the Patent Office, USTR, Homeland Security, Customs, Border Patrol, and the Justice Department. They need someone to coordinate them so they get the job done.…”