[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 150 (Tuesday, December 20, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: December 20, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                      URUGUAY ROUND AGREEMENTS ACT

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                               speech of

                          HON. WILLIAM D. FORD

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 29, 1994

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5110) to 
     approve and implement the trade agreements concluded in the 
     Uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations:

  Mr. FORD of Michigan. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the 
implementing legislation for the Uruguay round of the General Agreement 
on Tariffs and Trade.
  The GATT was conceived in the aftermath of World War II, when the 
American economy was the world's strongest. The label ``Made in 
America'' guaranteed a quality product, one that was superior to those 
made in other countries. In that world, it was correct to assume that 
freer trade virtually always helped Americans.
  But times have changed. The world has become much more competitive. 
Multinational companies, both American and foreign, will use any 
location in the world to produce products if that location promises to 
reduce the costs of production. The globalization of production puts 
the jobs of American workers into competition with workers who live in 
countries which have virtually no labor standards. American workers 
will inevitably lose the race to the bottom caused by such competition. 
That is why economists estimate that the American manufacturing sector 
lost millions of good paying jobs to low-wage foreign countries in the 
decade of the 1980's.
  For this reason, this Nation's trade policy must now focus on 
ensuring that American workers have a level field to play on. This 
focus was entirely missing in the GATT negotiations and is entirely 
missing from the agreement and its implementing legislation. I fear 
that adoption of this legislation will leave the workers of the United 
States powerless to fight against countries that seek to gain 
competitive advantage through the use of cheap or unsafe labor 
conditions.
  This legislation also makes it very difficult for the United States 
to fight countries that use other methods to gain competitive 
advantage. Under the GATT, it would be illegal for a country to enact a 
domestic content law or to subject foreign goods to import quotas. The 
threat of these actions saved the domestic auto industry in the 1980's 
however, because the threat of these actions led the Japanese to adopt 
``voluntary'' import restraints. The voluntary restraints gave our 
industry and its workers the breathing space they needed to become 
competitive in the world. Now, the industry is hiring for the first 
time in a generation. Does anybody doubt that unrestricted Japanese 
competition in this industry in the 1980's would have prevented this 
recovery?
  Free trade will impoverish us unless it is fair trade. We should not 
enter into agreements which strip us of our right to defend the living 
standards of our workers and our ability to create good American jobs. 
I believe we can do better. I urge rejection of this legislation.

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