Date: 2011-04-13
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to rise this morning to address the House and the American people regarding the Korea Free Trade Agreement and its effect on working families. Let me start by saying that I am committed to trade. Trade can benefit our Nation. our businesses. and our working families. In fact. I am a member of President Obamas Export Council. Our goal is to double American exports in 5 years. not to export American jobs. But the problem with our current trade policy. the one that started with NAFTA and has gone downhill from there. is that its benefits are skewed. The benefits are concentrated in a few powerful multinational corporations. and it is hardworking middle class families who pay the price. The Korea FTA doesnt fall far from the NAFTA tree. A few stock prices and CEO bonuses may go up. but the Korea FTA will kill jobs. push down American wages. and drive small American companies who face unfair competition out of business. Perhaps the biggest problem with the Korea FTA is that it opens the door for more illegal trade from China. Members on both sides of the aisle and both sides of the FTA debate have concerns about trading with China. We all know that China manipulates its currency. doesnt protect intellectual property. and engages in illegal transshipment to escape U.S. tariffs. You can go on the Internet right now and find Web sites bragging that they can hide the source of Chinese goods and thereby avoid paying duties owed to the U.S. The illegal transshipment. mislabeling. and duty evasion rob the American people of money that we are owed. They also drive U.S. businesses out of business. U.S. businesses often go to great length and expense to prove that Chinese goods are being dumped and are receiving illegal subsidies. When the duties the U.S. imposes arent paid. hardworking Americans lose their jobs when their workplaces shut their doors forever. From New York to South Carolina to Lynwood. California. in my own district. American businesses have turned off the lights and sent workers home due to unfair Chinese competition. And China doesnt even have to break the rules to reap the benefits of the Korea FTA. This agreement. which was negotiated by President Bush. only requires that 35 percent of a Korean car be made in Korea to be eligible for tariff benefits. That means that 65 percent of the car can be made in China by child labor. prison labor. and workers who lack the right to form free and independent unions. America has lost about 7.5 million jobs since the recession began. We cannot afford another jobkilling trade agreement that ignores Americas middle class families. We have learned some very hard lessons after more than 15 years of NAFTAstyle free trade agreements. Weve heard many promises. just like the promises were hearing about the Korea FTA. But the fact is that there are failures. NAFTA was supposed to solve illegal immigration by developing a robust economy in Mexico that would allow hardworking people to provide for their families by staying home. That didnt work. CAFTA was supposed to include bold new safety and wage protections for workers. but these protections are disappointingly weak. allowing countries to downgrade their own labor laws. And in the Oman FTA. the administration actually negotiated a deal with a country that. as our own State Department reported. was experiencing a forced labor problem. Forced labor. How are our American families supposed to care for their families and send their kids to college when they are competing with forced labor? Free trade was supposed to increase economic opportunity for everybody. for big businesses as well as small. and for hardworking families at home and abroad. This has not happened. Too many communities have been left to rot because corporations shut down U.S. plants to chase increasingly cheap labor and weak environmental standards abroad. After 15 years of living with NAFTA and its clones. real wages for American families are down. Our trade deficit is in the tens of billions of dollars. Our manufacturing base is falling apart. The American worker is now more productive than before. but that increased productivity has not led to higher wages. The truth is the NAFTA free trade models favor the wealthiest few and the corporate fat cats at the expense of small businesses. workers. families. and our communities. In the coming weeks and months well be asked to consider at least two of the Bush administrations trade deals with Korea and Colombia. Despite the long record of failed FTAs. we are going to hear that there is a consensus of support for these FTAs. Well hear that anyone who knows anything about trade supports these agreements. Dont believe it. because its not true. Advocates for Americas families. both inside and outside of Congress. have grave concerns. We want a new path that creates real opportunities for workers and the businesses that employ them. We want trade agreements that dont sell our environment short. close doors for our children. or substitute the judgment of international trade lawyers for our courts. Some of my colleagues say that the Korea FTA isnt that bad. That we can live with it. That argument misses the point. Why are we settling for "not that bad"? We should be fighting for the best trade agreements possible. NAFTAstyle FTAs simply arent good enough. We should focus on creating a trade policy that creates and saves wellpaying jobs here in America. Our trade policy should help small businesses hire more employees. not shut their doors. It should help our trading partners to grow and flourish. not race to the bottom in labor and environmental standards. Our trade policy should not reward bad actors like China. but reward playing by the rules. If we stand united for working Americans. we can deliver a trade policy that accomplishes these goals. Minor adjustments to NAFTAstyle deals arent good enough. I urge my colleagues. on both sides of the aisle. to stop settling for "not that bad" and embark on a trade path that promotes development and prosperity for all.