[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 12, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E165]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     H.R. 5264 EXTENDS SUCCESSFUL PREFERENCE PROGRAMS WITH ANDEAN, 
                       CARIBBEAN, AND GSP NATIONS

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                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 12, 2008

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I would like to offer a few words on H.R. 
5264, a bill that I introduced to provide a long-term extension of 
three trade preference programs scheduled to expire this year. This 
bill would extend until September 30, 2010 the Andean trade preferences 
(ATPA) that are due to expire on February 29, preferences for the 
Caribbean Basin (CBI) countries--which expire on September 30--and the 
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which expires on December 31. 
H.R. 5264 also addresses a number of problems with the textile 
provisions of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the 
competitive need limitation (CNL) waiver provisions of GSP.
  These preference programs have been a centerpiece of U.S. efforts to 
spread the benefits of globalization to the world's poor and developing 
countries. They have created tens of thousands of jobs--jobs that are 
likely to be lost to countries like China if the programs are not 
renewed--and have created critical economic opportunities for workers 
and businesses in the United States. These programs have also fostered 
key U.S. foreign policy goals, including U.S. counternarcotic efforts, 
and empowered the agents of democracy and reform abroad.
  Extension beyond 2010 would have been ideal to provide the necessary 
predictability and stability for the Andean, Caribbean, and GSP 
programs. However, I have included the shorter extension in this bill 
to accommodate the range of opinions on the issue of renewal. In the 
coming days, I will work with my colleagues to harness the strong 
bipartisan support that I believe exists to extend and improve these 
critical trade preference programs.
  Finally, a 2-year renewal of these programs at this time should send 
a clear signal to negotiators in the World Trade Organization Doha 
Round negotiations that the U.S. commitment to trade and development 
remains unwavering and substantial. This element of the Round is 
fundamental, even as the United States presses for key goals in 
agriculture, far reaching commitments on tariff and non-tariff barriers 
with respect to manufactured goods, services and strong outcomes in 
other areas, including the so-called Rules negotiations.

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