[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 56 (Monday, March 27, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4641-S4642]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           THE TRADE DEFICIT

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I see the minority leader is here. If he 
will indulge me for about 2 more minutes, I 
[[Page S4642]] would like to make one additional point on another 
subject today because I think it is important. I wanted to make it last 
week but I did not. I was not able to. I want to make it today.
  Last week it was announced that the January trade deficit, the 
merchandise trade deficit, in our country was $16.3 billion, the worst 
in our history.
  The reason I mention that is we have seen great angst on the floor of 
the Senate and the House about the Federal budget deficit, and it is an 
enormously important problem for our country, which we must address. 
But it is almost a conspiracy of silence with respect to the trade 
deficit. We are suffering the worst trade deficit in human history in 
this country. The merchandise trade deficit is terrible and it is 
growing, higher than it has ever been. It relates to jobs moving from 
our country overseas.
  I want to show my colleagues just two charts. The January trade 
deficit shows our trade problems with China and Japan and Mexico have 
all grown. There is not one major trading partner with which this 
country does business where we now have a positive trade balance--not 
one. Japan is well over $65 billion a year. We have a trade deficit 
with Japan of $65 billion a year. With China, we now have a trade 
deficit of nearly $30 billion a year. You can see what has happened. It 
has grown exponentially. This is an outrage. This means the loss of 
American jobs and American opportunity.
  You can see what is happening with Mexico. This chart simply reflects 
the January balance. Multiply it by 12. We start with a surplus, 1992; 
1993 a small surplus, 1994 a minuscule surplus. Now in January of this 
year we have the first deficit. If you multiply that deficit by 12, you 
will find out what some of us who opposed NAFTA have said for a long, 
long while. We are going to be stuck with a big trade deficit with 
Mexico.
  The fact is the devaluation of the peso has meant American goods are 
much, much more expensive in Mexico and Mexican goods are much, much 
cheaper here in the United States.
  I might also observe that the trade deficit with Japan--and I do not 
have a chart on that at this point--the trade deficit with Japan has 
increased at the very time the dollar has fallen against the yen to 
some of its lowest levels ever.
  This trade strategy is not working. It is a bipartisan failure. This 
country needs a new Bretton Woods Conference that takes trade out of 
foreign policy and decides to stand up for the interests of this 
country. Not protectionist, not building walls, but to decide that this 
trade strategy hurts America and one-way trade rules that allow our 
country to be a sponge for everything everyone makes and allow their 
countries to keep American goods out is a trade strategy that we must 
stop.
  It is time for us to decide, nearly 50 years after the end of the 
Second World War, that our trade policy ought not be a foreign policy. 
Our trade policy ought to be to stick up for the economic interests of 
Americans: producers, workers, entrepreneurs, risktakers. They deserve 
this country to stick up for their interests and demand fair trade--not 
preferential trade, fair trade. Fair trade from Japan, fair trade from 
China, fair trade from Mexico, fair trade from all of our trading 
partners. Anything less than that, in my judgment, is failing this 
country.
  As I said, I think there is almost a conspiracy of silence about the 
worst trade deficit in human history. I do not understand why. Our 
Trade Ambassador, Mickey Kantor, is the best we have had since I have 
been in Washington, DC. He has taken on Japan and taken on China. But, 
still the problem gets worse with both China and Japan. I hope one of 
these days we can find others who feel as I do that that trade strategy 
is hurting this country and there is a better way and a new day to set 
this country right.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. DASCHLE addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Abraham). The Democratic leader.

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