Press Releases: On the Occasion of Poland’s Constitution Day

Press Statement

Rex W. Tillerson

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

May 2, 2017

On behalf of the United States of America, congratulations to the people of Poland on the 226th anniversary of your historic constitution.

The United States and Poland are close friends, and our partnership continues to strengthen. We share democratic values, strong cultural and historical ties, and a security relationship based on mutual commitments. The United States is particularly proud to have U.S. troops deployed in Poland, working alongside their Polish counterparts to protect Poland, the United States, and all of our NATO Allies. As we work together to ensure our security and combat terrorism and other threats, we reaffirm our shared commitment to uphold democratic values and the rule of law, setting a standard in defense of freedom for others to emulate.

The U.S.-Poland friendship is also grounded in an economic relationship that makes both countries stronger. More than half of the top 100 U.S. companies are invested in Poland, and Poland is the leading trade partner of the United States in Central Europe. In the coming years, we hope to expand opportunities for economic growth between our two countries.

The United States looks forward to a future of continued cooperation and friendship with Poland.

Press Releases: Republic of the Marshall Islands Constitution Day

Press Statement

Rex W. Tillerson

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

May 1, 2017

I am pleased to extend warm greetings to the people of the Republic of the Marshall Islands on behalf of the United States as you commemorate your Constitution Day.

The United States and the Marshall Islands have a close historical relationship that predates your independence and endures through our close cooperation and the Compact of Free Association. The relationship our two countries share is based on a unique history, common democratic values, and commitments to global peace and security.

We value the sacrifices many Marshallese have made serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. We appreciate your support at the United Nations and look forward to continued cooperation.

The United States remains committed to our partnership with the Marshall Islands and to the strong friendship between our people.

Celebrating National Small Business Week

Today I had the privilege to celebrate National Small Business Week with the Small Business Administration and small business owners from all across America.

Since 1963, the White House has honored America’s small businesses by marking this National Small Business Week and recognizing the tremendous contributions that small businesses make to our country every single day.

Just this weekend, President Trump declared that “small business owners embody the American pioneering spirit and remind us that determination can turn aspiration into achievement.”

I know firsthand how true that statement is. I grew up in a small business family in a small town in Columbus, Indiana. I went to work at my father’s gas station when I was only 14 years of age. And as the world knows, President Trump grew up in a family business, too.

We both know the sacrifices that are required to make a business work. And we know that when small business is strong, America is strong.

A stunning 99.7 percent of all American businesses are small businesses. And no fewer than 57 million Americans work for small businesses – nearly half of all private-sector jobs in the United States.

Our economy, from coast to coast, depends every day on small businesses.

President Donald Trump wants to help them become stronger and more successful than ever – because this President is the best friend that America’s small businesses will ever have.

On Day One, President Trump went right to work picking a world-class cabinet full of business leaders who know what small businesses need to succeed.

He has signed more bills cutting job-killing regulation than any President in American history. And he’s instructed every agency in Washington, D.C. to find two regulations to get rid of before issuing any new ones.

President Trump authorized the Keystone and Dakota pipelines to protect America’s energy future. We’re cutting back the mandates and rules that are raising energy costs and making it harder for small businesses to grow and get ahead.

No matter where you look, President Trump has taken decisive action to get government out of your way – so that America’s small businesses can do what they do best – innovate, create jobs, and grow.

Just last week, President Trump laid out his plan for one of the biggest tax cuts in American history. We’re going to cut taxes across the board for working families, small businesses, and family farms.

We’re going to repeal and replace Obamacare – to end its burden on America’s job creators and to give the American people the low-cost, world-class health care they deserve.

We’re going to keep slashing through red tape and rein in unelected bureaucrats so they can’t cripple the economy from the comfort of their taxpayer-funded desks.

We’re going to roll back Dodd-Frank so that small businesses have full access to the best financial system in the world.

And we’re going to pass an infrastructure package so that America has the best roads, the best bridges, the best highways, the best airports, and the best future we’ve ever had.

Under President Trump’s leadership, we’re going to do all this and more – so that every small business, and anyone who dreams of someday starting a small business, has the best shot at success.

This week we celebrate all that small businesses have achieved, and all that they do for America every single day. I have faith that under President Donald Trump, America’s small businesses will continue to lead the way – to drive our economy and foster a brighter future for their communities and our country – just as they always have.

Press Releases: Remarks at Close of United Nations Security Council Ministerial Session on D.P.R.K.

Remarks

Rex W. Tillerson

Secretary of State

United Nations

New York City

April 28, 2017

SECRETARY TILLERSON: I shall now make a further statement in my capacity as Secretary of State of the United States. First, I appreciate all of the statements that have been made by you, and I have received those statements in the constructive spirit in which I know they’ve been offered. I also want to acknowledge the presence of a large number of ambassadors with us today. Your presence gives strength to the importance of this issue. It is a visible demonstration of the importance of this issue to the international community, and I welcome you, and I appreciate you being here.

It has been stressed repeatedly in many of your statements today North Korea has failed to honor its commitments of the past. It has made promises which it has broken. Had this body fully enforced and stood behind resolutions it had enacted in the past, vigorously enforcing sanctions with full compliance, perhaps we would not have found ourselves confronted with the high level of tension that we face today.

We will not negotiate our way back to the negotiating table with North Korea. We will not reward their violations of past resolutions. We will not reward their bad behavior with talks. We will only engage in talks with North Korea when they exhibit a good-faith commitment to abiding by the Security Council resolutions and their past promises to end their nuclear programs.

And that is why we must have full and complete compliance by every country to the resolutions that have been enacted by this body in the past – no relaxation in the vigorous implementation of sanctions. And we have called for those sanctions to be extended to other areas as well on a voluntary basis, and we’re calling globally for all countries to participate in exerting pressure on North Korea – this is the way you make your voice heard, is through action. Any failure to take action diminishes your vote for these resolutions of the past, and diminishes your vote for future resolutions, and it de-values your seat at this council. We must have full, complete compliance by all members of the council.

I thank you.

Press Releases: Remarks Before Meeting With Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi

Remarks

Rex W. Tillerson

Secretary of State

U.S. Mission to the UN

New York City

April 28, 2017

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Foreign Minister Wang Yi, thank you so much for traveling to New York and in particular participating in this morning’s very important session at the Security Council. I appreciated very much your remarks, and I appreciate the constructive way in which China has engaged with the United States to address the challenges on the Korean peninsula that are common to both of us.

We also appreciate the early relations that we are establishing with the visit of President Xi to Mar-a-Lago. Our two presidents, I think as you pointed out, have developed a very good understanding of one another and a level of trust which allows them to communicate openly, and that has translated to all of us. And we feel, too, very open to discuss issues of great importance with our counterparts. And we look forward to the engagement of the first important dialogues beginning next month, in June, in Washington, D.C., where we can begin to build on the discussions that began in Mar-a-Lago.

We’re encouraged by our working relationship today, and we look forward to advancing that further. And in particular, we appreciate our joint efforts in addressing the situation on the Korean peninsula, and we look forward to our continued collaboration in addressing this particular challenge.

And again, thank you. I thank both of your ambassadors. They represent China well here at the United Nations and in Washington, and we appreciate the very open and frank conversations we are always able to have with them as well.

Thank you.