FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, October 19, 1999
Contact: Bill Adams
Tel.: (202) 366-5580
DOT 168-99
U.S. Transportation Secretary Slater Leads
Transportation and Trade Mission to Brazil, Chile, and Peru
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater is leading a transportation and trade mission to South America this week designed to promote U.S. technology in the transportation arena, encourage trade with U.S. companies and expand U.S. support for an improved Western Hemisphere transportation system.
The trip, capped by an Open Skies signing with Chile, is comprised of three delegations with 9 to 11 business leaders participating in each country. The sectors represented in the delegation include aviation, transit, railroad, highways and maritime, as well as financial institutions.
"At each stop on this mission, we are seeking new bilateral arrangements to strengthen the transportation channels through which all trade must move," said Secretary Slater. "President Clinton has said, a well-integrated transportation system is critical to prosperity and job creation throughout the Western Hemisphere, at home and abroad."
Secretary Slater’s trip includes the October 18 announcement of a new partnership between the U.S. and Parana, Brazil to improve mass transit in both the United States and Parana, the October 20 announcement of the donation of six rescue motor boats from the U.S. Coast Guard to Chile, the October 21 Open Skies signing with Chile, and the October 22 signing of a Memorandum of Intent with Peru to exchange rail safety information.
Mass Transit Information Exchange With Parana, Brazil
In Curitaba, Brazil, on Monday, October 18, the Secretary joined Governor Jaime Lerner of the state of Parana, Brazil, in announcing a partnership to improve mass transit in both the United States and Parana.
The U.S. Department of Transportation and Parana entered into a memorandum of intent (MOI) to establish mutual cooperation in exchanging information concerning urban mass transportation planning, and to study each other’s initiatives to promote innovations in mass transportation services.
In addition, this partnership will provide the United States with the opportunity to examine the bus rapid transit system in the city of Curitiba. Secretary Slater highlighted the tremendous success of Curitiba’s system of dedicated bus lanes that will carry more than 300,000 riders per day.
Both DOT’s Federal Transit Administration and the state of Parana are interested in replicating the Curitiba model of bus rapid transit in other cities of Parana, as well as cities in the United States. The first project under the MOI will be a joint seminar in Parana to bring together mayors and transportation officials from cities in both Parana and the United States interested in duplicating the Curitiba model. DOT and Parana also intend to work on development of other joint projects, such as Livable Communities programs which promote more environmentally friendly transportation and allow communities to choose transportation alternatives.
Secretary Slater Announces Six Rescue Motor Boats for Chile
Reinforcing the Clinton-Gore administration’s commitment to transportation safety at another stop in Santiago on October 20, Secretary Slater announced that the U.S. Coast Guard, a service organization of the department, will transfer six excess 44 foot motor lifeboats to the government of Chile. This type of motor lifeboat has aided mariners in distress from the rugged Oregon and Washington coasts to the Great Lakes and Eastern Seaboard for the last 20 years. The boats offered to the government of Chile have proven their worth and have the potential for many more years of faithful service to distressed mariners under the Chilean flag. The six excess boats will come from service in the Great Lakes or on the Pacific Coast where they performed search-and-rescue and law enforcement. The boats can be transferred in early spring 2000, and the rescue stations will receive new motor lifeboats to replace the transferred boats.
Secretary Slater Signs Open Skies with Chile
Calling the accord an important step forward in President Clinton’s effort to create partnerships for free trade in aviation services with countries throughout Latin America and the world, Secretary Slater, on October 21, will sign an Open Skies agreement in Santiago with Chile. The agreement will be signed by Secretary Slater and Chilean Transportation and Telecommunications Minister Claudio Hohmann.
"Signing this agreement is an important day in relations between the United States and Chile," Secretary Slater said. "This new aviation partnership will allow U.S. and Chilean carriers to provide direct service to more communities in both countries, providing benefits to travelers, businesses and the economies of both our nations."
Open Skies agreements permit unrestricted service by the airlines of each side to, from and beyond the other’s territory, without restrictions on how often carriers fly, the kind of aircraft they use, and the prices they charge. The United States has Open Skies agreements with 36 aviation partners around the world, including the South American nations of Argentina and Peru. Open Skies agreements have had a dramatic effect, leading to lower fares and cargo rates, more transportation choices and direct service between more points.
The U.S. policy of Open Skies is driven by the conviction that users and suppliers of air services benefit when operating decisions are left to the airlines, rather to government regulators.
The United States has achieved Open Skies agreements with 36 nations with five new agreements in the last 12 months alone. Secretary Slater has said that open skies agreements are a milestone for competition, but not our final destination, and has called for all U.S. Open Skies partners from around the world to meet in Chicago in December to look "beyond open skies" to the possibilities of a truly global international aviation system for the 21st century.
Rail Safety Agreement with Peruvian Minister of Transport
On October 22, Secretary Slater and Minister Alberto Pandolfi, Peru, Ministry of Transport, Communications, Housing and Construction will sign a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) between the two departments to exchange rail safety information. The MOI will provide an exchange framework and will focus on the improvement of safety in rail operations through the exchange of information and programs and through the promotion of environmental and energy aspects of rail transportation. United States rail safety has dramatically improved as a result of the Clinton administration’s partnership with the rail industry. Between 1993-1998, passenger fatalities dropped 93 percent and employee fatalities dropped 43 percent. At the same time, total highway-rail grade crossing incidents declined 28 percent, highway-rail grade crossing fatalities dropped 31 percent and highway-rail injuries dropped 29 percent.
The MOI comes as Peru’s rail lines were privatized in September of this year and the issue of safety regulation grows in importance. Recognizing this, a new organization, Ositran, was established in Peru to oversee the safety of the privatized rail system. The Department of Transportation plans to work closely with Ositran as it develops its safety role.
Maritime Agreement with Brazil
It is also expected that while in Rio de Janeiro, a major three-year maritime agreement will be signed. The agreement is designed to ensure that each country’s shipping lines will be treated equally when carrying cargo from each other’s country.
The bilateral agreement calls for liberalization of maritime trade and provides that each nation will not discriminate against the other’s carriers with respect to maritime-related services and facilities, including shipping taxes. The new agreement will restore access for U.S.-flag carriers to government-controlled cargoes whose shipments are arranged by the Brazilian government, which historically have been broad in scope in Brazil. In recent years, the Brazilian government has made strides to address the issue of making more cargoes available to open competition.
Addressing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in these various countries, Secretary Slater described this mission as a way to ensure U.S. companies are well positioned to supply transportation products and services in Latin America and provide them with opportunity to compete on a level playing field.
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[Photographs from the South America trip are
available by logging onto the Brazilian website www.radiobras.gov.br/fotos/default.htm
or by contacting Mary Trupo (202) 366-4570 at the U.S. Department
of Transportation
to have them e-mailed or UPS mailed to you]