These new labor and environmental objectives are unacceptable. The United States is the world's leading exporter of goods and services. Its total international trade is equivalent to 23 percent of gross domestic product. One in five U.S. jobs depends on trade. If the world trading system is weakened, the U.S. economy will falter.
Fast track negotiating authority is vital for the U.S. economy and for U.S. global leadership.
Moreover, fast track authority is essential in order to guarantee that the rules of the 21st century's global trading system would be written by U.S. trade negotiators and advance U.S. economic interests and national values. President Clinton's draft bill fails to meet these benchmarks, however. Tighten the language regarding agreements negotiated with fast track authority. The new legislation involves changes in existing statutes that are necessary in order to implement such trade agreements. This language gives the President too much room to put extraneous provisions in future trade agreements.