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Commerce Secretary Resumes Ron Brown’s Work in Bosnia
Brown and 34 others were killed on April 3 when their Air Force jet crashed into a mountainside as it was trying to land in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The Air Force last week relieved three senior officers responsible for the plane from their commands.
Kantor said he had no fears for his safety in making the trip, which will seek to drum up business for Americans firms bidding for contracts to rebuild the war-torn area. "There’s no trepidation whatsoever," he said in remarks at the National Press Club. "There’s a job to be done. It in the interest of peace in the region and stability, and frankly, for America’s growth as well."
Kantor, who had served as U.S. trade representative, was picked by President Clinton to succeed Brown as commerce secretary on April 12. In his press club appearance, Kantor said the administration viewed a Chinese invitation to resume talks over the issue of copyright piracy as a good sign. The U.S. negotiating team, led by Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Lee Sands, was scheduled to meet this week with the Chinese for the first face-to-face talks since America threatened to impose record trade sanctions of $2 billion if the dispute is not settled by June 17.
Kantor stressed that while the invitation to resume talks was a "step in the right direction," the Chinese still had to demonstrate a commitment to live up to the 1995 copyright agreement to avoid sanctions.
"If by June 17 there’s not clear and decisive and concrete action, then of course, those sanctions will go into effect," he said.
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WASHINGTON, June 4 (AP) -- Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor intends to travel to Bosnia in early July with U.S. business executives to complete the trade mission that Ron Brown was on when his plane crashed in April. "The president has asked me to go and finish phase one of Secretary Brown’s mission," Kantor said Tuesday. "There’s much to be done there to build a foundation and the underpinning for peace."
Bosnian/Balkan Reconstruction U.S. Department of Commerce
Mickey Kantor Profile
Berserkistan, Apr 4 · Bodies Recovered from Ron Brown's Plane
Berserkistan, Apr 3 · Passenger List for Brown's Plane
Berserkistan, Apr 3 · Plane Was Military Version of Boeing 737
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