Date: 2001-12-06
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I rise to support H.R. 3005. the Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2001. I believe passage of this important legislation is crucial to Americas economic interest. especially in light of the recession. H.R. 3005 is significant because it seeks to renew the Presidents fast track or trade promotion authority (TPA) to negotiate trade agreements with other nations. This legislation would ensure that the United States can effectively negotiate away foreign tariff barriers as well as nontariff barriers that now exclude U.S. products. It gives the U.S. credibility to negotiate tough trade deals while preserving Congress .right to approve or disapprove them. More importantly. if the U.S. fails to be a leading participant in future negotiations on multilateral. bilateral and sectoral agreements. we will see a negative effect on our competitive ability to sell our goods in overseas markets. Our global economy demands that the President have TPA to open up foreign markets to United States products and ensure continued economic prosperity for American consumers and workers. For this reason. I fully support giving the President this important tool that every President. except for President Bill Clinton. has had since 1974. TPA allows the President to enter into trade agreements reducing. eliminating. or otherwise affecting U.S. tariff and nontariff barriers. It essentially commits the Congress to vote on those. agreements (without amendments or revisions) within a limited period of time. Under H.R. 3005. the President must also consult and coordinate with Congress throughout the negotiating process. In any event. if Congress does not like the end result. members can simply vote against the total package. Mr. Speaker. 95 percent of the worlds consumers living outside of the United States. Let me repeat: 95 -percent of the worlds consumers live outside the U.S. That means quite simply. that the continued growth of the U.S. economy depends upon our success in eliminating trade barriers around the globe. Since 1993. U.S. exports have contributed to nearly onethird of the nations economic growth and have increased three times faster than overall income. Moreover. between 1986 and 1994. jobs supported by exports rose 63 percentmore than four times faster than overall private industry job growth. Free trade is especially important to the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 1996. Virginia exported goods worth $10.9 billion. 4.8 percent higher than in 1995. As the 16th largest exporter among the 50 states. Virginia industries have benefitted tremendously from international trade. particularly in the hightech. industrial machinery. transportation equipment. and chemical and fabricated metal products exporting s.ectors. U.S. technology companies are the single largest merchandise exporters .in the United States. accounting for 20 percent of all merchandise exports. Exports from the U.S. have more than doubled during the last decade. In particular. hightech services such as computer. data processing and other information services are booming. While these exports are vital. imports are. also important. They help keep inflation in check. give consumers greater choice. createjobs. and allow U.S. companies to use the best technology available so they can increase their productivity and competitiveness. Since TPA lapsed in 1993. the U.S. has been forced to sit on the sidelines while our foreign competitors aggressively pursued their own economic interests through trade agreements. For example: both Canada and Mexico now have free trade agreements with Chile. the Latin American Southern Cone Common Market ("Mercosur"). which consists of Brazil. Argentina. Paraguay. and Uruguay. has agreements with Chile and Bolivia and is negotiating trade arrangements with other countries in Latin America. Japan and the European Union are working toward trade arrangements with countries .in Latin America and Asia. and Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are implementing a free trade area. The President must have the authority to begin hammering out fair and balanced trade agreements that will clinch Americas leadership role in the world market and improve the standard of living for American families. H.R. 3005 is a reasonable compromise that will enable the United States to stimulate economic growth. exercise leadership. and provide new opportunities for American companies. workers and .their families. The U.S. is not keeping pace with our foreign competitors in opening up markets. We are party to only two of the more than 130 free trade agreements. and 43 of the 1.800 bilateral investment agreements in force today. The impact of U.S. inaction cannot be overstated: we face discriminatory tariffs. our service sectors are often at a competitive disadvantage against their foreign rivals. product standards are established that favor our foreign competitors. and foreign companies are often granted more favorable investment terms. By granting the President this authority we will guarantee that the U.S. remains both the political and economic world leader. Right now. while the U.S. stands on the sidelines. other nations have gotten the jump on negotiating trade agreements that benefit their domestic interest. U.S. exporters lose out on investment opportunities while the Congress debates whether we as a nation should be engaged in serious world trade. The time for debate is over.. the time for action is now. Without the authority provided by this legislation. U.S. negotiators will not be able to sit across the table from our largest trading partners and reach agreements that lower tariffs. increase transparency and lessen onerous regulations in prospective markets. Instead. it will be our trading partners who negotiate free trade pacts among themselves. excluding U.S. workers and businesses from the benefits of open markets. We cannot afford to sit idly by while other nations seize the mantle of leadership on trade matters from the*United States. The September 11th attacks on -America and the ensuing sluggish economy make it more important than ever for Congress to give the President unfettered authority to tear down barriers to trade and investment. expand markets for U.S. farmers and businesses. and create higherskilled. higherpaying jobs for American workers. Because TPA is crucial to these objectives. I urge all of my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 3005