[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 187 (Monday, November 27, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S17527-S17528]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TIME TO EVALUATE NAFTA

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, on last Thursday, Senator Dorgan, my friend 
from North Dakota, introduced a bill to assess the impact of the NAFTA 
to require further negotiation of certain provisions of the NAFTA and 
to provide for the withdrawal from the NAFTA unless certain conditions 
are met.
  That bill is S. 1417. I am pleased to cosponsor the bill introduced 
last Thursday by my friend from North Dakota, Senator Dorgan. This bill 
calls for an evaluation of the effects of the North American Free-Trade 
Agreement, known as NAFTA, on the U.S. economy and work force. It is 
very 

[[Page S 17528]]
timely, given the precipitous calls to expand NAFTA further. I share 
Senator Dorgan's suspicions, supported by the initial data, that U.S. 
participation in NAFTA may not have benefited the United States and, in 
fact, may have harmed the economy of the United States.
  I did not vote for NAFTA. I do not regret having voted against it.
  The U.S. trade deficit with our NAFTA partners, Canada and Mexico, 
reached $16.7 billion in just the first 6 months of 1995. In 1993, 
before NAFTA, the United States had a small trade surplus with Mexico. 
Given the rule of thumb that each net export of $1 billion in goods 
creates 16,500 jobs, a trade deficit of $16.7 billion therefore 
translates roughly into 275,500 U.S. jobs lost as a result of NAFTA.
  To be sure, the Mexican peso crisis earlier this year is partly to 
blame for the sudden shifts in trade with Mexico. With the devaluation 
of the peso, Mexican exports to the United States are cheaper than 
ever, while Mexican citizens can no longer afford to purchase U.S.-made 
products.
  The Treasury Secretary's report to Congress for August 1995 indicates 
that consumer good imports in Mexico fell 29 percent in the first 
quarter of 1995 and 49 percent in the second quarter of 1995, compared 
to 1994. Unemployment and underemployment in Mexico grew from 4.5 
million in the first half of 1994 to 7 million in the first half of 
1995; only employment rates in the low-wage, export-oriented 
maquiladora sector increased--only in that one sector. Additionally, 
the number of workers in Mexico who earned less than the Mexican 
minimum wage rose to almost 11 percent of the work force in May 
1995. Decreasing already low wages only encourages further job flight 
from the United States to Mexico.

  Passage of NAFTA was supposed to be in recognition of Mexico's strong 
economic performance over the last decade. But the economic crisis this 
year suggests that Mexico was not ready to participate in a 
``predictable commercial framework for business planning and 
investment,'' as NAFTA purported. The Mexican crisis has also pointed 
out some flaws in the NAFTA that Senator Dorgan's bill attempts to 
correct. NAFTA must be renegotiated in order to correct for large trade 
deficits; it must be corrected to adjust for currency distortions; and 
it must be adjusted to prevent unfair displacement of agricultural 
products. These changes will help to make this flawed agreement less 
disadvantageous to the United States.
  Additionally, Mr. President, Senator Dorgan's bill requires a number 
of certifications from the President and members of his Cabinet 
regarding a number of issues. These certifications provide a review of 
NAFTA and its effects on the U.S. economy and its effect on U.S. 
workers. They include issues like job losses and gains, U.S. purchasing 
power, trade flows, environmental and safety standards, the drug trade, 
and democratic reforms in Mexico. These are reasonable standards by 
which to measure the costs and benefits of continued U.S. participation 
in NAFTA. If NAFTA is not providing all the benefits that its sponsors 
promised, we should know that and we should act accordingly, even to 
the extent of withdrawing from an agreement that does not meet our 
needs. We certainly should not consider expanding this agreement until 
we have concluded that it provides more good than harm.
  Mr. President, I congratulate my colleague, Mr. Dorgan, on his 
foresight in introducing this legislation. I am glad to be a cosponsor 
of it. I hope that it will receive the careful consideration of the 
Senate and that the Senate will act accordingly in view of the needs 
for action.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Thomas). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, was leaders' time reserved?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.

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