USA*ENGAGE Labels Burma Sanctions a (r)

[BURMAJAPAN@xxxxxxx]

Subject: USA*ENGAGE Labels Burma Sanctions a Serious Error

In a message dated 97-04-22 14:09:40 EDT, you write:

>Subj:	USA*ENGAGE Labels Burma Sanctions a Serious Error
>Date:	97-04-22 14:09:40 EDT
>From:	AOLNewsProfiles@xxxxxxx
>
>    WASHINGTON, April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- "Today's decision to impose
>unilateral economic sanctions on Burma represents a failure of American
>foreign policy.  The best tool we have for promoting values and democracy is
>to be actively engaged abroad.  Unilateral sanctions rarely work and are
>often
>counterproductive because they isolate a country from American influence,"
>said Frank Kittredge, Vice Chair Of USA*ENGAGE and President of the National
>Foreign Trade Council.
>          USA*ENGAGE and its 466 members have once again called upon the
>United
>States to stop the proliferation of unilateral sanctions as its primary tool
>of foreign policy.  In the past four years the U.S. has imposed 61
unilateral
>trade sanctions an 35 nations.
>          In addition, the coalition points to the high cost of sanctions on
>Americans, which are documented in an Institute for International Economics
>study released on April 16, 1997, which credited U.S. sanctions with costing
>as much as $20 billion a year in lost U.S. exports and 250,000 export
related
>jobs.
>          "The evidence is clear, multilateral cooperation works far better
>than
>unilateral sanctions.  Today's action perpetuates a bad precedent by ceding
>American leadership while rewarding our foreign competitors," continued
>Kittredge.
>          USA*ENGAGE is a broad-based coalition representing American
>business and
>agriculture, which supports American engagement overseas as the best means
to
>promote human rights, values and American interests.  Coalition members are
>undertaking a sustained effort to support greater overseas involvement by
the
>United States at all levels -- political, diplomatic, economic, charitable,
>religious, educational and cultural -- and to oppose the use of unilateral
>economic sanctions.
>          For more information about USA*ENGAGE and the sanctions issue
visit
>the
>USA*ENGAGE Web site at: www.usaensage.org.
>      CO:  USA*ENGAGE
>      ST:  District of Columbia
>      IN:
>      SU:  EXE ECO