[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 7 (Thursday, January 17, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H338-H339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1515
                    FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH INDIA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, today my very good friend Mr. Crowley of 
New York, in a bipartisan way, and I joined together, and we now have, 
I'm happy to say, our good friend from north Dallas, a great Member of 
the Rules Committee, Pete Sessions as a cosponsor of legislation, a 
resolution actually calling for free trade negotiations to begin 
between the United States and India. We introduced this resolution to 
highlight the tremendous benefits of deeper economic engagement between 
the world's two largest democracies.
  While bilateral trade has spurred growth in both of our countries, we 
have not yet come close to realizing the full benefits of complete 
access to each other's markets and full liberalization of the Indian 
economy.
  Madam Speaker, the American people are very focused on the economy 
right now, understandably. While growth remains strong and unemployment 
remains low, and we just this morning got the report of the drop in 
unemployment claims, the prevailing economic stories, however, in the 
news stir up a great deal of fear and concern among working families. 
The subprime mortgage crisis has dominated the headlines for months. 
The housing slump in many communities makes homeowners feel like their 
financial security is threatened. And as always, Madam Speaker, there 
is the natural anxiety that comes from the highly dynamic and fast-
paced environment of the global economy.

[[Page H339]]

  At a time of economic anxiety, the most important thing is to ensure 
that growth remains strong, so that opportunities can be creative. If 
we look at what has been our biggest source of strength in recent 
months, it has been export-led growth. Over the last year, there have 
been dire predictions for GDP growth, and every single quarter the 
numbers have come out much stronger than has been anticipated because 
exports have made up for softer areas within our own economy.
  At the same time, Madam Speaker, imports have ensured that working 
families have access to the goods they need at prices that they can 
afford. We are weathering these economic challenges because we are 
engaging in the worldwide marketplace.
  India has been a very important component of that engagement. Our 
exports to India have doubled in the last 5 years. We are India's 
largest trading partner and largest investment partner. Trading with 
India has opened up new doors for American producers, service 
providers, workers and consumers as well.
  But India still has miles to go in its reform process. Tariffs in 
many sectors are prohibitively high. The regulatory environment is 
absolutely Byzantine. American investors looking for opportunity in an 
otherwise ripe environment still confront significant roadblocks to 
successful investment.
  If we are to maximize the benefits of trade with the world's second-
largest consumer market, there must be broad, comprehensive reform. 
Free trade negotiations would provide maximum leverage for encouraging 
this kind of reform. Whether it's slashing exorbitant tariffs, which 
average 20 percent and range as high as 210 percent, Madam Speaker, 
that's a 210 percent tariff, protecting intellectual property, and 
another thing they have done is ensuring transparency in governance, a 
free trade agreement would provide the necessary impetus for 
comprehensive liberalization of their economy.
  Many of our FTAs are negotiated with foreign policy concerns chiefly 
in mind. Our pending FTA with Colombia, for example, will solidify 
strong democratic institutions for a key ally in a key region, in 
addition to the economic benefits to both countries.
  There are certainly foreign policy concerns associated with a U.S.-
India free trade agreement as well. It would provide an opportunity to 
deepen and broaden our ties with a strong, stable Asian democracy that 
shares our fundamental values in a challenging region.
  But Madam Speaker, the commercial benefits to such an FTA would be 
considerable. It would open up a tremendous opportunity to build upon 
our export-led growth and ensure that Americans can take full advantage 
of the more than 1 billion consumers in the world's second-largest 
emerging market. With all eyes on the economy, now is the time for the 
U.S. and India to begin to pursue comprehensive economic engagement 
with a free trade agreement.

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