Posted on 06/12/2005 5:08:24 AM PDT by anonymoussierra
United States
Political relations. Poland's objectives in relations with the United States are to consolidate full-fledged strategic partnership and maintain the momentum of political and military relations. Another matter of crucial importance for our country is to expand economic co-operation since our excellent bilateral political relations have not, thus far, been reflected in equally close and intensive trade relations. Poland is particularly interested in attracting investment in the new technologies sector and development of co-operation between small and medium enterprises.
Close co-operation with America has acquired a special diminution in the context of Poland's imminent accession to the European Union. On the one hand, there are concrete legal issues related to enlargement of the EU which need to be resolved, most notably the necessity of renegotiating bilateral investment agreements concluded in the early 1990s by the United States with Poland and the other current applicants for EU membership. On the other hand, 2002 saw a growth of tensions between America and the EU, driven by differing approaches to security issues, the fight against international terrorism and a number of economic disputes. Working through these controversies requires a new approach to transatlantic dialogue, in which Poland can and wishes to play a significant part.
Another feature of 2002 was redefinition of the directions and priorities of America's foreign policy, which was in large measure a consequence of the terrorist attacks on America on 11 September 2001. The United States considers itself the leader of the campaign against new global threats and looks to support for its actions from allies in the framework of ad hoc coalitions. One of America's permanent allies is Poland.
Our country firmly believes that in transatlantic contacts the natural differences that spring from cultural, social and geographical factors and disparate roles in the world do not in any way cancel out the commonality of fundamental interests and civilisational values. Poland's special relations with the United States, which we owe to dedicated effort in the foreign policy sphere, give us a strong hand in relations with the European Union. At the same time, Poland tries to act as an advocate of the interests of its eastern neighbours, Ukraine in particular, in their efforts to forge closer links with the United States, NATO and the European Union. Poland's high standing in United States policy springs from recognition of our successes in political and economic reform and American assessment of our country as a reliable ally.
The special nature of links between Poland and America was further confirmed in 2002 by numerous visits at the highest level. Considerable weight was attached during these visits to expansion of economic relations. Another important matter was contacts with the Polish-American community and the Jewish diaspora in the US.
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A special event was a state visit by President Aleksander Kwaœniewski in the United States on 16-19 July. The Polish head of state became only the second foreign dignitary during the George W. Bush presidency whose visit was market by full red-carpet treatment. This testifies to the importance attached by the US to relations with Poland. President Kwaœniewski had meetings with, among others, President Bush, House majority leader Denis Hastert, House minority leader Dick Gephardt, Secretary of State Colin Powell, CIA chief George Tenet, and a large group of members of the Senate. Presidents Bush and Kwaœniewski also met with representatives of the Polish-American community in Troy, Michigan. A fact worth stressing is that the presidents were able to hold long talks covering a wide range of international issues and bilateral relations. Among the topics discussed were: the fight against international terrorism, the situation in the Near and Middle East, NATO transformation, expansion of relations with Russia and Ukraine, European Union enlargement, the necessity of reinforcing the transatlantic link, and an international tender for procurement of a multi-role aircraft for Poland's air force. President Kwaœniewski also presented a plan known as the "Riga Initiative," whose aim is to bolster the ties to NATO and the United States of the Central and East European countries that will not enter Atlantic Alliance structures in the second round of enlargement.
On 10-11 January Prime Minister Leszek Miller paid visits to New York and Washington, where he held talks with President George Bush, Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, and CIA chief George Tenet. They discussed security problems and bilateral co-operation. Prime Minister Miller also met with representatives of the Polish diaspora and Jewish organisations, discussing subjects of interest to both communities, such as, respectively, measures to promote expansion of co-operation with the Polish-American community, the problem of restitution of private Jewish property and preservation of the Jewish cultural heritage in Poland.
On 14-15 January a visit to America was paid by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Marek Belka. He had meetings with Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Under Secretary of the Treasury John Taylor, US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Horst Koehler.
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On 5-6 February a visit to America was paid by National Security Bureau chief Marek Siwiec. He took part in bilateral consultation on the subject of the war on terror and met with President Bush's National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.
Another visitor was Minister of National Defence Jerzy Szmajdziñski, who on 22-24 April took part in bilateral consultations.
On 9-15 September a working visit to the United States was paid by Foreign Minister W³odzimierz Cimoszewicz. He held a telephone conversation with Vice President Dick Cheney and had a meeting with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and senior staff of the Freedom House Foundation and European Institute in Washington. At Georgetown University in Washington he gave a talk on Polish security policy and unveiled a memorial to Jan Karski.
On 27 September the president of the National Bank of Poland, Leszek Balcerowicz, took part in the annual conference of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
On 31 October-2 November a visit to America was paid by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Grzegorz Ko³odko. His meetings included talks with the governing board of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and Daniel Fried of the National Security Council, and conversations with Zbigniew Brzeziñski and Madeleine Albright.
On 12-17 November a visit to America, at the invitation of US Attorney General John Ashcroft, was paid by Minister of the Interior and Administration Krzysztof Janik.
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Military co-operation. In 2002 there ensued a further cementing of bilateral military contacts. A subject that invariably cropped up in all talks was the tender to supply a multi-role aircraft to the Polish military. In recognition of the significance of relations with Poland and its role in the region, the US Congress offered Poland a loan to help finance procurement of a fleet of F-16s. The government's decision in December to award the contract to an American company, Lockheed Martin, not only set the stage for still closer co-operation, but also has a significant economic dimension. Poland is hopeful that the associated offset programme will contribute to modernisation of the Polish defence industry, attract new American investors to Poland, including from outside the armaments sector, and lead to transfer of modern technologies.
In 2002 frequent visits were paid to America by representatives of Poland's defence establishment: Deputy Minister of Defence Janusz Zemke (2-8 March); General Edward Pietrzak, commander of land forces (5-8 May and 14-20 November); Defence Minister Jerzy Szmajdziñski (18 July); Under Secretary of State Andrzej Towpik (7-20 September); and General Józef Flis, first deputy chief of the General Staff (19-25 October). During these visits they held talks with representatives of the Pentagon, the National Security Council and the Department of State. Among the new areas of co-operation discussed were exchanges of experiences on transformation of military forces, joint military manoeuvres ("Victory Strike"), partnership between Polish and American units, and joint activities connected with the conduct of Operation "Enduring Freedom."
Other questions discussed were NATO enlargement and transformation, modernisation of defence industry, co-ordination of defence policy vis-a-vis Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, and participation in peacekeeping forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.
Poland is still a beneficiary of American assistance programmes ("Foreign Military Sales" and "Foreign Military Financing"). Dozens of Polish officers and non-commissioned officers have attended training courses and studied in the US. In June the Polish Navy obtained a frigate, named ORP Koœciuszko, and two helicopters as part of its equipment.
Economic co-operation. The quality and intensity of Polish-American economic relations are not wholly on a par with the excellent, positively model, state of political relations. Both countries agree that there are substantial possibilities of remedying this unfavourable situation.
Some 130 American business enterprises have invested in Poland. The biggest are: Citigroup, General Motors, American Investors, Polish American Enterprise Fund, International Paper Company, and Philip Morris. Since the second half of 2000 a decline in the flow of American investment into Poland has been recorded. As a result, the United States is no longer the leader in terms of the value of assets acquired, and with a stock of about $8 billion now occupies second place after France. At present the flow of new American investment on any major scale has dried up. Poland's expectation is that the offset programme attached to the contract for procurement of the F-16 will help to partly solve this problem.
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Compared with 2001, a certain growth in trade between Poland and the United States was recorded. Its overall volume amounted to $2,893 million (an increase of almost 14%), the share of exports from Poland adding up to $1,098 million (an increase of almost 29%) and the share of imports from America to $1,795 million (an increase of 6% compared from the preceding year). A deficit totalling almost $700 million was recorded on the Polish side. The value of exports per capita came in the case of Poland to about $25, which is one of the lowest indicators in Europe. The growth rate of Polish exports to America was also low (for several years we have occupied bottom place among the countries of the region).
The merchandise structure of trade did not change noticeably in 2002. The main products exported from Poland were: machinery and mechanical and electrical equipment, fruit and vegetable preserves, beverages and decorative goods, and steel, iron and cast-iron products. There was a certain increase in exports of food and steel products (as a developing country Poland was exempted from US protective measures against imports into America of steel products introduced by President George Bush in March 2002). Our chief imports from America were machinery, electronic equipment and components, research apparatus, telecommunications equipment, cars, grains and tobacco.
In 2002 the United States raised many problems which are impeding broader access for American investors to the Polish market. These include: inadequate protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in the case of pharmaceuticals, computer programmes and audio-visual material (which could leave Poland facing economic sanctions), reduction of commodity quotas due to conformance with European Union requirements, retroactive application of tariffs, and lengthy and opaque bidding procedures.
Certain difficulties were created for Polish producers by delays in renewal by the US Congress of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP). The GSP system was renewed with retroactive effect in August 2002 and will remain in force pending Poland's accession to the European Union. For its part Poland gave effect to the Polish-US Trade Protocol, lowering tariffs on specified American product lines. The reductions in customs duties are of particular significance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) exporting to the US market. Since they will cease to apply after Poland's accession to the EU, it is crucial that such businesses strengthen their position on the US market while these reductions are still in force.
In this context a letter of intent was signed by the Polish and American Chambers of Commerce during President Aleksander Kwaœniewski's visit in America in July. It provides for the creation of a programme of co-operation between Polish and American SMEs in utilisation of modern databases and Internet tools (e-commerce).
An additional question in bilateral relations is the Treaty on Trade and Economic Relations between the Republic of Poland and the United States of America signed in Washington on 21 March 1990. Since Poland is required to bring domestic legislation in line with Community law, there has arisen the necessity of its renegotiation. As of end-2002 the trilateral (US-EU-Poland) negotiations involved had not been concluded.
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Co-operation with the Polish American community. The Polish American community is undergoing profound changes, both qualitative (upward social mobility) and quantitative (declining numbers). A process of integration with American society at large, driven by rising standards of education and wealth, is making headway. Another development is migration by Americans of Polish descent to states outside their traditional heartlands (New York, New Jersey, Illinois). These processes have been accompanied by a rise of new organisations affiliating the so-called Polish American professionals, i.e. Americans of Polish descent who have attained high social status. These organisations are challenging the Polish American community's historical organisational base, the Polish American Congress (PAC).
Taking these processes into account, the Polish government in 2002 maintained good relations with ethnic-Polish organisations in America, seeking in particular to cultivate contacts with their regional branches.
During the visits of President Aleksander Kwaœniewski, Prime Minister Leszek Miller and Foreign Minister W³odzimierz Cimoszewicz, considerable attention was given to Polish American affairs. The representatives of the Polish government stressed the services rendered by Polish American organisations, especially PAC, in Poland's transition process and during the debate on NATO enlargement. They encouraged ethnic-Polish business persons to enter the Polish market.
Note should be made of the activities of the National Polish American-Jewish American Council, which promotes Polish-Jewish dialogue in the United States.
Dialogue with the Jewish American community. In 2002 improvement of relations with the Jewish diaspora in America was one of the major aims of US visits of Polish statesmen. Prime Minister Leszek Miller met with representatives of the Conference of Major Jewish Organisations in New York, President Aleksander Kwaœniewski aired this issue in an address at Georgetown University in Washington, and in New York Foreign Minister W³odzimierz Cimoszewicz spoke with leaders of the American Jewish Committee, one of the principal Jewish organisations in the US.
The most important issue for the Jewish diaspora in America, raised at every meeting, is restitution of private property. Jewish Americans set great store by the Polish government offering at least symbolic compensation for property lost during the Holocaust. Jewish organisations kept a close watch on the progress in 2002 of work on a new reprivatisation law. They welcomed the positive course of the process of restitution of Jewish community property.
Additionally, representatives of the Jewish community indicated the necessity of proper restoration and conservation of monuments of Jewish culture and memorial sites in Poland (the death camps in Auschwitz and Be³¿ec, cemeteries in Kalisz and S³ubice). The American side in the talks was represented by the US Commission for the Preservation of the American Heritage Abroad.
A chance for promoting a positive image of Poland and burying negative stereotypes is participation in a project to build a Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw which will display the richness of the Jewish cultural heritage in Poland.
Katarzyna Krause, Artur Orzechowski*
ping trzymta sie
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"United we stand, Divided we fall"
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