[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 18 (Monday, March 2, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E251]]



                   EXTEND THE BENEFITS OF FREE TRADE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL G. OXLEY

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, March 2, 1998

  Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, for those who missed it, I would like to 
bring an opinion piece from the February 26th Wall Street Journal to 
the attention of my colleagues. The subject of the piece is 
international trade in the Americas.
  Foreign trade is of increasing importance to Americans and the 
companies they work for in today's global economy. After reviewing the 
relevant data, it is only possible to conclude that North American Free 
Trade Agreement, for example, has been of great benefit to Ohio's 
economy. Specifically, Ohio exports to Canada and Mexico grew 34.7 
percent between 1993 and 1996, and Canada and Mexico have become Ohio's 
leading and sixth most important export markets, respectively. Exports 
to our NAFTA trading partners accounted for nearly half of Ohio's total 
exports in 1996.
  Fifty percent of the impressive national economic growth of the last 
five years can be attributed to our exports, and the success of NAFTA 
has been crucial to this growth. Ohio jobs supported by exports--which 
pay 13 to 16 percent higher than the national average for non-export 
related jobs--have grown 19 percent since 1992. Finally, U.S. exports 
to Canada and Mexico have resulted in an increase of 311,000 jobs for 
Americans.
  It is an economic fact that free trade benefits those on both sides 
of trading relationships. Again Mr. Speaker, I commend the following 
column by Sidney Weintraub of CSIS and Jeff Chisholm of the Bank of 
Montreal to the attention of all interested parties.

             [From the Wall Street Journal, Feb. 26, 1998]

                   Extend the Benefits of Free Trade

                (By Sidney Weintraub and Jeff Chisholm)

       The most significant obstacle to the U.S. further extending 
     its trading relationships has been the domestic political 
     challenge posed by vocal critics who assert that freer trade 
     destroys jobs. Opponents used that argument in November when 
     they blocked congressional reauthorization of President 
     Clinton's fast-track authority.
       But the facts belie the anti-free-trade rhetoric. In the 
     years since the North American Free Trade Agreement was 
     ratified, unemployment has declined in each of its member 
     countries--the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
       In the U.S., whose economic expansion is beginning its 
     eighth year, unemployment has reached its lowest level in a 
     quarter century. Canada, emerging from a long recession, is 
     anticipated to have the highest growth rate of all G-7 
     countries in 1998; its unemployment rate dropped dramatically 
     in December, to the lowest level in seven years. Mexico, 
     which only two years ago experienced its worst single-year 
     economic decline since the Great Depression, rebounded in 
     1996 and 1997 to its best performance since the 1970s. Its 
     economic growth was 7% last year; inflation is declining; its 
     stock index is more than 20% higher than it was a year ago. 
     Unemployment in the main cities is now below 3.5%.
       A recently completed survey of 361 medium-size and large 
     businesses in the U.S., Canada and Mexico not only confirms 
     these macroeconomic trends, but specifically indicates that 
     Nafta has had no adverse impact on jobs. This survey--to be 
     released next week by Bank of Montreal; its U.S. subsidiary, 
     Harris Bank; and its Mexican affiliate, Grupo Fincanciero 
     Bancomer--found that since Nafta came into effect in 1994, 
     47% of all North American businesses have gained employees 
     while another 41% employ about the same number. Only 11% of 
     the firms surveyed said that they had lost employees since 
     1994; of the 361 firms surveyed, only one, a U.S. company, 
     directly attributed its job losses in Nafta. These findings 
     indicate that increased international opportunities, coupled 
     with the significant domestic growth all three economies have 
     experienced in recent years, has fueled job creation across 
     North America.
       Seizing on Nafta's success, Mexico has been concluding 
     free-trade agreement with countries throughout the Western 
     Hemisphere. Canada has concluded a free-trade agreement with 
     Chile and has plans to expand its free-trade network further. 
     Of the three Nafta countries, then, the U.S. stands alone in 
     its inability to expand its access to Latin American and 
     Caribbean markets through trade negotiations. The consequence 
     is that North American producers will increasingly base their 
     operations in Canada, Mexico and elsewhere to avoid the 
     discrimination they would face by exporting directly from the 
     U.S. American workers will suffer as a result.
       The continuing crisis in Asia makes trade within the 
     Western Hemisphere more important than ever. Already, Canada 
     and Mexico are the top two destinations for U.S. exports, and 
     Latin America has become the fastest-growing regional market 
     for U.S. goods. Similarly, the U.S. is clearly the most 
     important destination for Canadian and Mexican goods.
       The leaders of the hemisphere will meet in Santiago, Chile, 
     for the Summit of the Americas in April, at which they will 
     make final preparations to negotiate a Free Trade Area of the 
     Americas. They will look for leadership from North America, 
     especially the U.S. If Mr. Clinton arrives in Santiago 
     without fast-track authority in hand, the U.S. will be 
     isolated from the current hemispheric trend of market opening 
     and subregional economic integration.
       The proposed FTAA is the logical next step for expanding 
     trade and investment opportunities throughout the hemisphere. 
     It would be unfortunate if the U.S. squandered the 
     opportunity.

     

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