[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 124 (Friday, September 21, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1704]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      NEED TO REBUILD OUR ECONOMY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ROY BLUNT

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 21, 2001

  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, as brave firemen, police construction workers 
and other citizens continue to clear away the physical rubble of 
destroyed buildings, we also are surveying the damage done to our 
economy.
  It is not too soon to begin plans to rebuild the Pentagon and the 
World Trade Center. It is also not too soon to begin thinking about 
what we can do to rebuild our economy.
  World trade is an essential part in the engine of our economy, but a 
part that hasn't been working fully. The United States has been 
excluded from too many agreements in the past years because we couldn't 
move fast enough. It's time to make a change.
  I urge my colleagues to read the following article from the September 
9, 2001 issue of the Springfield News Leader by United States Trade 
Ambassador Robert Zoellick.

                  State Needs Open Markets to Prosper

       It's critical for Congress to give President Bush a fast-
     track authority on trade pacts.
       On a recent trip to the Springfield area, I visited the 
     headquarters of five local companies engaged in foreign trade 
     at the invitation of Congressman Roy Blunt, a legislative 
     leader and partner. The performance of businesses such as 
     Leggett & Platt, King Press and the Loren Cook Co. reinforced 
     my belief that trade and open markets are critical to the 
     economic well-being of America's manufacturers and farmers.
       President Bush has been pressing to open markets to help 
     U.S. businesses and families. Yet, this effort has been 
     hampered because the president lacks U.S. Trade Promotion 
     Authority that must be granted by Congress. This authority to 
     negotiate market-opening agreements subject to an up-or-down 
     vote by Congress expired in 1994.
       Consider the following: There are 130 free-trade agreements 
     worldwide; the United States is a party to only two. There 
     are 30 free-trade agreements in the Western Hemisphere; the 
     United States is a party to only one. The European Union has 
     27 special bilateral trade agreements, with 15 more in 
     progress--Mexico has forged ahead with eight agreements, with 
     32 countries.
       So what is the loss to the United States? Consider the 
     story of Caterpillar Inc. with just one country; Chile. 
     Caterpillar's motor graders made for export to Chile face 
     nearly $15,000 in tariffs. When Caterpillar manufacturers 
     motor graders in Brazil for export to Chile, the tariff is 
     just $3,700. And when Caterpillar's competitors produce a 
     similar (but not as good) product in Canada, it can be 
     exported to Chile free of tariffs because of the Canada-Chile 
     free-trade agreement.
       But if we are going to correct problems such as that one 
     and open markets around the world, President Bush and I need 
     Congress to enact U.S. Trade Promotion Authority this autumn. 
     This trade authority will help us launch a new round of 
     global trade negotiations in November. And this new round is 
     critical if we are going to reduce the world's trade barriers 
     to an array of U.S. products.
       Some people want to turn back the clock on trade, embracing 
     isolationism and protectionism at a time of global 
     interdependence. During my Springfield trip, I saw the 
     region's companies appreciate that open markets create job 
     opportunities in Missouri and throughout the United States.
       Today, exports support 152,000 jobs in Missouri--in 
     industries such as chemicals, agriculture and industrial 
     machinery. More than 75,000 of Missouri's manufacturing jobs 
     are tied to exports, as are more than 16,000 of the state's 
     agriculture jobs. These dry numbers mean new jobs and 
     improved prospects for companies and families throughout the 
     Springfield region.
       I toured the Paul Mueller Co., where exports--to countries 
     ranging from Canada and Mexico to Japan and Brazil--accounted 
     for 19 percent of its total sales last year, up approximately 
     42 percent since 1995. International Dehydrated Foods in 
     Monett was Missouri's Agriculture Exporter of the Year in 
     1998 and has customers throughout Latin America and Asia.
       Missouri's farmers, manufacturers and consumers need open 
     markets to prosper. The Bush administration is committed to 
     working with the Congress and our trading partners to clear 
     the way. We have a historic opportunity to make free trade a 
     defining feature of the 21st century. It is an opportunity 
     and indeed necessity that America cannot afford to miss.