[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 112 (Friday, July 25, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1640-E1641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      UNITED STATES-CHILE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. LANE EVANS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 24, 2003

  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to express my concerns 
regarding both the Chile Free Trade Agreement and the Singapore Free 
Trade Agreement.
  While, I support free trade with Chile and Singapore in principle, 
this agreement is a serious erosion of the noble position we stood up 
for in prior agreements in regards to upholding labor rights. I 
recognize that free trade has the potential to provide an opportunity 
to expand markets for U.S. goods and services. However, if we do not 
first guarantee fair trade; we do not have free trade.
  Fair trade agreements are an important way to maintain the United 
States' leadership in

[[Page E1641]]

upholding fundamental human rights. By entering into free trade 
agreement with countries that already abide by labor standards 
equivalent to our own, we can prevent the exploitation of the weak, the 
uneducated, the poor, and others. Children should not be working 60 
hour weeks in unsafe factories for pennies a day. Not one person in 
this Congress wants that to happen, but unfair trade agreements 
mitigate these abuses to occur by ignoring the opportunity to set 
minimum standards.
  This is not to say that either Chile or Singapore do not abide by the 
five core, internationally-recognized, labor rights. However, the so-
called ``enforce your own labor protections'' provisions in the Chile 
and Singapore Agreements are dangerous templates for future 
negotiations. The maintenance of minimal labor standards must be 
insured through explicit requirements outlining our expectations for 
workers' protection. Not only have we not defined labor standards in 
these current agreements, we have also not given ourselves a means to 
address any violation of labor rights in the future. This is simply 
unacceptable.
  The negotiation of the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement sought this 
explicit protection for workers. The Chile and Singapore Free Trade 
Agreements are a definite step in the wrong direction in regards to 
labor rights. As a nation, we have continuously stood up for the rights 
and protection of all workers. We cannot sacrifice workers and their 
protection to save a buck on a pair of shoes simply because they are 
somewhere around the world. We must factor in the cost of abdicating 
our responsibility to protect both our workers and workers the world 
over. Without explicit protection for laborers it is not free trade 
because there is no price for human dignity.
  Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that I come here to oppose these 
agreements. Congress gave away its ability to amend trade agreements 
last year and, therefore, the only option I have to express my 
opposition to the labor rights provisions is to vote against the trade 
agreements in whole. Therefore, I will oppose these agreements and urge 
my colleagues to vote them down.

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