[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 50 (Monday, April 29, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3481-S3483]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ANDEAN TRADE PREFERENCE ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the
Senate will now resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R.
3009, which the clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
Motion to proceed to the bill (H.R. 3009) to extend the
Andean Trade Preference Act, to grant additional trade
benefits under that act, and for other purposes.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Nevada is
recognized.
Mr. REID. Madam President, today, as the Chair has announced, we are
once again on the Andean trade legislation. We have a vote tonight at 6
o'clock on invoking cloture on the motion to proceed to this
legislation. The time until 6 p.m. is equally divided between the
proponents and opponents on the motion to proceed. The reports we have
received are that it does not appear there will be a lot of debate
prior to this vote tonight, although there are a few Members who wish
to speak. There will be about 5 hours for debate, and it appears at
this time that there will not be a lot of speakers.
Unless my friend from Wyoming has a statement, I suggest the absence
of a quorum, and I ask that the time for the quorum call be charged
equally against both sides.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. THOMAS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Mr. THOMAS. Madam President, I wish to speak on the bill before us.
At 6 o'clock, as my friend from Nevada mentioned, we will be voting
on the motion to proceed to one of the more important bills before us
this year. I am glad we have some opportunity to talk about this
legislation.
H.R. 3009 is the vehicle on which the Senate will be voting as to
whether or not the Senate will proceed to three bills--the Trade
Promotion Act, the Trade Adjustment Act, and the extension of the
Generalized System of Preferences. I wish to focus on what I believe to
be the more critical issue, and that is the Trade Promotion Act.
This is often called fast track. It is designed to give us a system
to bargain, if you will, and negotiate treaties with other countries,
hopefully to the benefit of the United States. I believe it is very
critical to our economic future.
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While other nations are negotiating treaties--and have been for some
time--to open markets and strengthen their economies, the United States
during these negotiations has been on the sidelines. Of the 134 free
trade agreements in force, the United States is only party to 3. Mexico
has signed 28 agreements. One-third of the world's exports are covered
by the European Union's trade and customs agreements, where ours is
less than 11 percent.
Since the authority for the President expired in 1994, the rest of
the world has gone forward seeking to make trade agreements that are
favorable to their countries. We have not been able to do that.
The TPA bill passed the Finance Committee 18 to 3, and, of course,
has passed the House. I think it provides a reasonable solution to
where we ought to be and where we need to be. All of us are concerned
that trade be fair, that it be equitable, that it gives us the best
opportunities it can, but that there is trade. Trade is there and
billions of dollars move around the world every day.
We need to make sure our trade is as favorable as it can be and we
are in step with the rest of the world in terms of being able to do
that fairly.
President Bush said earlier it is important for America to understand
we are good at what we do. We can compete with anyone in the world. We
have the most productive workforce on the face of the Earth. Therefore,
let us open our markets to sell our products. He asked the Senate to
give him the ability to do that.
As I mentioned, the Trade Promotion Act expired in 1994 and we have
sort of stood on the sidelines ever since. In December, the House
passed a bipartisan trade promotion bill. The Senate Finance Committee
then moved fairly quickly. I was fortunate enough, as was the Presiding
Officer, to be a part of that and listened to that debate. It passed 18
to 3 to move it on and to do the things we want to do.
Certainly, there is room for discussion about trade and trade
agreements. We have different views of it, depending a little on where
we are and what we do at the time, but the fact is that trade
agreements are very important to us. They expand markets for U.S. goods
and services. They create higher paying jobs in America for those kinds
of things that are exported. They give us a chance to show our
productivity and our efficiency in doing the things we do well. So it
tends to invigorate our economy, and certainly now is a time when we
want to do that.
The absence of trade opportunities has created sort of an invisible
tax on America that we pay whenever we shop. Better trade deals and
lower tariffs can boost savings even higher, and I think it is time we
do that.
Trade is essential, of course, to America's economy and our growth
and our prosperity. Exports accounted for more than one-fourth of all
economic growth in the 1990s. The jobs that are dependent on exports
are estimated to be 13 to 18 percent higher than the national average.
One-tenth of American workers, 12 million, are in jobs that depend on
exports. So we need to think long and hard about the process we use.
Fast track sounds as if we are giving all the authority to the
President to make these decisions, but that is not the case. What we
are doing is setting up a system which allows the President and his
people to do the negotiations within guidelines that are set in the
bill, and then bring the results of those negotiations back to the
Congress. The Constitution provides that the Congress deal with those
Federal trade issues.
So as I mentioned before, a lot of these have been going on while we
have not been able to do much about it, and the impact is fairly
simple. One example is a $187,000 Caterpillar tractor made in America
and shipped to Chile is slapped with a $13,000 trade tariff. The same
tractor made in Brazil and sold to Chile is $3,000. The same tractor
made in Canada and shipped to Chile, there is no tariff. So in terms of
being able to compete, in terms of being able to be part of world
trade, without an agreement and a system to bring in these kinds of
things, we are left on the sidelines to some extent.
Trade is good for American farmers and ranchers. We have had several
meetings and a couple of news conferences on agriculture. One in every
three acres in this country is planted for exports. American farmers
exported about $55 billion in agricultural products last year. Almost a
third, nearly 40 percent, of agricultural products go into exports.
I understand different commodities are different and have different
impacts, but, nevertheless, overall agriculture is certainly a valuable
tool and one we have to have to have a strong economy. The same is true
of small business. The same is true, of course, of all we do in the
world.
Our relationships and our leadership, at least in part, have to do
with the economic arrangements we have and our economy. The trade
promotion authority is the one we are really looking at.
I mentioned it passed the House. It was a very close vote, as a
matter of fact, but it was passed on and the committee has dealt with
that. It would renew the trade agreement authority that expired in
1994.
Basically, it falls in two categories: the President's authority to
proclaim changes in tariffs resulting from negotiations of reciprocal
trade agreements and, two, procedures for implementing the provisions
of these agreements which entail changes in U.S. law.
These procedures are commonly known as fast track, and they require
an up-or-down vote of the Congress. It seems to me that is a reasonable
thing. I cannot imagine 535 individuals trying to come up with some
kind of trade negotiation. That does not work. So we have to delegate
that and then have the overview of it in the Congress. That is
basically what this does.
The key provisions include establishing the objectives of
negotiations. Obviously, when we negotiate for the United States and
the U.S. representatives, the purpose is to get as good a deal as we
can possibly get for our country. There are congressional guidances to
the President. It requires Presidential consultation with the Congress
before, during, and after trade negotiations. So, again, it is not
something that is apart from but is done in a particular way. It
creates a congressional oversight group, a broad-based bipartisan
organization, that has oversight of what is going on and can report and
give information to the Congress. It is designed to do that.
So the Congress is very much involved. That is the key now. The way
this is happening is what is called the Trade Adjustment Act. That is
the bill that is before us with these other two that will be coming a
part of that. One of them is Andean trade, which is a specific trade
agreement set forth to work with States in South America. We, again, do
not have agreements with them. One of them is Colombia where we are
seeking to try to make some changes, of course. Another is Bolivia,
Ecuador, and Peru. So this is one of the bills addressing that.
Then the trade adjustment authority is the one that has been in
effect before. It has expired. It provides programs for employees who
have felt the impact of trade agreements, such as the loss of jobs and
the loss of their businesses. Financial trading and assistance has been
available to firms and companies, and for displaced workers who face
significant adjustments.
I always think about agriculture. Years ago, farmers and ranchers
lived on the ranch and provided almost everything for themselves:
clothing and food. They built their own houses. They did all of those
things. Then as things changed we sought to do the things we do best
and make our profits there and then buy from other people what they do
best. That is sort of what happens in trade.
The new provision, however, is designed to go much further than what
it did in the past, and I suspect this will be the controversial aspect
of this negotiation in which there is a tendency on the part of
particularly the folks on the other side of the aisle to bring forth a
program that will be permanent, such as financing COBRA, where the
insurance can be extended that one had with their company, paying for
75 percent of it from Government funds, and developing a permanent
program where we are really looking for some rather short-term
assistance until these folks can readjust or perhaps get rehired.
So that is kind of where we are. Certainly this is one of the issues
the President has talked about a great deal
[[Page S3483]]
in terms of our economy and in terms of all the many things that affect
us. This has been one of his highest priorities.
I have to say, despite some of the conversation that goes on, the
President's priorities have done rather well in terms of taxes, in
terms of energy, and I think this is another one that must necessarily
be handled and put into place.
Trade promotion is critical to our economic future. The President
needs the authority to extend and expand our international trade
capacities. Trade negotiators need legislation to ensure they are
afforded a seat at the negotiation table.
I have already mentioned that many of these negotiations have gone on
without us. This bill provides a reasonable and effective procedure for
congressional consultation and involvement. It avoids establishing
unwarranted mandates that would adversely affect the negotiating
authority of the President. It ensures that the laws of the United
States are maintained and protected.
I suspect this will be somewhat controversial. Each of us will have
some of our parochial feelings about it. Wyoming is very involved in
agriculture. Trade is important to Wyoming agriculture. It is important
to beef, wool, wheat, and lamb. We have been through this. But TPA will
provide the negotiators a chance to reduce those barriers and get us a
better seat at the table.
Despite our relationship with Japan, I think there is still about a
40-percent tariff on beef. That is a high tariff in Japan. We need to
work at reducing those tariffs because, for agriculture, one of the
best futures we have is the opportunity to expand markets beyond our
domestic market.
I look forward to this debate and discussion, and, frankly, I look
forward to finishing the discussion this week so we can get on with
protecting our markets and making our economy even stronger.
Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
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