[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 121 (Monday, September 23, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9026-S9027]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 3009

  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise today to express my full support 
for the conference report on H.R. 3009, the Andean Trade Preference 
Expansion Act, which was passed by Congress and signed by the President 
just prior to the August recess. I was unable to come to the floor 
during the consideration of the conference report, but I wanted to take 
this opportunity to express my views on this important legislation.
  H.R. 3009 was by far the most comprehensive trade legislation to come 
before Congress in fourteen years. By passing this bill, we 
accomplished four key goals: granting the President Trade Promotion 
Authority for the first time in 8 years; dramatically enhancing Trade 
Adjustment Assistance for displaced workers; renewing and expanding the 
Andean Trade Preference Act to provide legitimate export opportunities 
to Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, and; extending for 5 years the 
Generalized System of Preferences providing tariff cuts for over 100 
developing countries.
  I support all four of these goals, and I voted enthusiastically in 
favor of this bill. I am particularly pleased that the enhancement of 
the Andean Trade Preference Act is the underlying bill for this 
important legislation. This issue has been of great personal importance 
to me.
  When the Senate was considering its version of Andean legislation in 
May, we heard time and again about the success of new, legitimate, 
exports from the region like cut flowers and asparagus.
  Since December 4 of last year, when the original ATPA legislation 
expired, these and many other legitimate exports from the region have 
been subjected to substantially higher tariffs. These higher tariffs 
hit the fresh cut flower sector particularly hard as higher tariffs 
impacted peak sales periods for the Valentine's Day and Mother's Day 
holidays.
  This legislation will return trade benefits to all of those products 
previously covered by ATPA and, most importantly, this legislation has 
been made retroactive to December 4, so that any duties that were paid 
during the lapse of ATPA will be refunded.
  I am pleased that the conference report is not simply a renewal of 
ATPA, but includes enhanced benefits for new products. Times, and our 
trade policy in the region, have changed since 1991 when the original 
ATPA legislation passed. Most notably, the passage in 2000 of the 
Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act provided enhanced trade benefits 
to Caribbean countries, but inadvertently disadvantaged imports from 
the Andean region.
  Nowhere else was this more critical than in apparel assembly where 
some 100,000 jobs in Colombia alone were at risk of being relocated to 
CBI countries. Under the enhanced ATPA program in the conference 
report, the Andean countries will now be competitive suppliers in the 
region. And this new ATPA benefit will also benefit U.S. producers of 
textile, yarn and cotton by making these U.S.-produced components more 
competitive with Asian goods. In fact, the U.S. apparel importers 
predict that the ATPA provisions in this bill will lead to over $1 
billion in new orders. The next time ATPA is debated in this chamber, I 
look forward to hearing floor statements that show that this projection 
has come true. I also hope to hear of new successes from increased 
exports in footwear, watches, tuna, and other new products afforded 
ATPA benefits under this legislation.
  Enhanced trade benefits in the apparel sector should, in my view, be 
the new norm in the Western Hemisphere. I continue to be concerned 
about the demise of the Multi-Fiber Agreement in 2005 and the effect 
the end of this agreement will have on U.S.-Caribbean and Andean 
apparel assembly partnerships. If we want a competitive apparel 
industry in the Western Hemisphere post-2005, we must be developing 
greater efficiency in the region now.
  Secretary of Commerce Don Evans has been leading this effort for the 
Administration, and the Commerce Department has developed a Western 
Hemisphere action plan to enhance post-2005 competitiveness in the 
region. I will be writing to Mr. Evans shortly to encourage a similar 
initiative for the Andean region.
  I also want to say a few words about two other key parts of this 
trade bill--Trade Promotion Authority and Trade Adjustment Assistance. 
It has been eight long years since Trade Promotion

[[Page S9027]]

Authority expired. In my view, that is far too long for the United 
States to be sitting on the sidelines while other countries are 
aggressively negotiating trade agreements. With Trade Promotion 
Authority, the Congress and the President will be speaking with a 
unified voice during negotiations.
  TPA will strengthen the United States' negotiating position in 
ongoing Doha Round of negotiations in the World Trade Organization and 
will provide much needed momentum for the Free Trade Area of the 
Americas negotiations. With TPA, USTR will be able to close 
negotiations on bilateral agreements with Chile and Singapore with the 
confidence that Congress will consider the agreements as negotiated.
  I am pleased that the conference report retained a number of 
provisions that will help to ensure that import-sensitive agriculture 
products, such as citrus from my state, will be given an increased 
level of attention during trade negotiations. I believe these provision 
are necessary to help rebuild consensus in support of trade within the 
agriculture sector. TPA can also help our citrus growers gain market 
access in Europe and elsewhere around the world, if we achieve our 
goals in the WTO agriculture negotiations.
  Of course, TPA is only the first step toward trade negotiations. 
Whether or not we are successful in achieving our negotiating 
objectives will depend on close cooperation between the Congress and 
the administration. I look forward to working with the Administration 
on this effort.
  The final comment I will make is on Trade Adjustment Assistance. I am 
pleased that Members of Congress were able to work together in a truly 
bipartisan fashion to address the health care needs of American workers 
adversely affected by foreign trade agreements. This trade legislation 
will nearly triple the existing Trade Adjustment Assistance program by 
providing new and more comprehensive coverage options. These new 
benefits will provide critical assistance to the over 2,000 Floridians 
who presently receive Trade Adjustment Assistance, particularly those 
from the apparel and electronics sectors where job losses have been 
most severe.
  For the first time, displaced workers will be eligible for a 65 
percent advanceable, refundable tax credit that can be used to pay for 
COBRA or other state continuation plans. Health benefits will also be 
available to individuals who work for businesses that supply or 
contract with firms affected by trade. This comprehensive legislation 
represents a critical step towards our overall goal of lowering the 
number of uninsured, and I applaud my colleagues who supported it.
  I was pleased to vote for the comprehensive trade legislation 
encompassed by H.R. 3009. Passage of this bill was a major 
accomplishment of this Congress and proof that the Congress can work 
together in a spirit of bipartisanship. I am excited about the 
opportunities I believe this legislation brings to not only our 
country, but to the rest of the world.

                          ____________________