MINNEAPOLIS – Feb. 26, 2003 – Warren Staley, chairman and chief executive officer of Cargill, Incorporated, has been appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the President's Export Council (PEC). As the premier national advisory committee on international trade, the PEC promotes export expansion, advises the President on government policies and programs that affect U.S. trade performance, and provides a forum for discussing and resolving trade-related problems among the business, agricultural, industrial, labor and government sectors.
"As a Council member, I am honored to represent U.S. food and agricultural interests as we continue our work of opening markets abroad for U.S. goods," said Staley.
The PEC includes 10 members of the U.S. Congress appointed to two-year terms and the Secretaries of Commerce, Agriculture, State, Treasury, Energy and Labor, along with the U.S. Trade Representative, the chair of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and the administrator of the Small Business Administration. Mr. Staley is one of 28 private-sector members of the council who "serve at the pleasure of the President," with no set term of office.
"Warren Staley will have a positive impact in his advisory role to the President," said Secretary of Commerce Don Evans. "Twelve million American jobs depend on exports of goods and services. The President's economic growth plan has set the course for a stronger economy that underscores the importance of trade to America's economic growth and prosperity."
Established by executive order of the President in 1973, the PEC originally was composed of business executives only, but was reconstituted in 1979 to include leaders of the labor and agricultural communities, Congress and the Executive Branch.
Cargill, Incorporated is an international marketer, processor and distributor of agricultural, food, financial and industrial products and services with 97,000 employees in 59 countries. The company provides distinctive customer solutions in supply chain management, food applications, and health and nutrition.
