[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 33 (Wednesday, February 25, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H2811]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1700
                 WE NEED TO FOCUS ON OUR TRADE DEFICITS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, last night, President Obama said that in 
this time of economic insecurity, America must avoid the possibility of 
protectionism. My friends, where are the fearsome red-herring 
protectionists?
  We all believe in free trade so long as it is fair trade, and I 
believe most of all in free trade among free people. Our Nation boasts 
the most open markets in the world, but one must recognize that America 
hasn't had a balanced trade account since 1975, yes, 1975.
  That's 34 years of regression on the jobs and trade front, 34 years 
of wandering in the wilderness, 34 years of deluges of imports dwarfing 
our exports, 34 years of outsourcing our good jobs by the millions. 
Thousands of America's best companies have been sacrificed, Maytag, 
Trico, Playtex, Levis, Zenith, Georgia-Pacific, Champion Spark Plug. 
The list is endless.
  Now we are watching major segments of our banking system disintegrate 
while we buy foreign televisions, foreign clothing, foreign 
automobiles, foreign food, all while our beautiful Nation begs China, 
undemocratic China, for money.
  It's pretty clear we need to focus on our trade deficits as a causal 
factor in our other deficits. The human and economic tragedies continue 
to mount. The massive hemorrhage of U.S. wealth instructs us in its raw 
truth. So-called free trade agreements began in 1975. Back then we had 
a surplus of $12.4 billion in goods with the world. We have now sunk in 
2008 to $677 billion in trade deficit, three-quarters of a trillion 
dollars, and all the lost jobs that go with it just disappear.
  The evidence is all around us. Americans are working harder each 
year, increasing their productivity but then seeing no increased wages. 
More lost purchasing power, the dollar isn't worth as much. Their 
health and pension benefits, disappearing. This is not a recipe for a 
healthy economy, a strong nation or a middle class.
  The challenge is trade is not a zero sum game. Other nations don't 
play by the same rules. Other nations manage their markets. Other 
nations manipulate their currency. Other nations aren't democratic and 
they have no rule of law.
  Let's look at the raw facts, as ignoring our trade deficits won't 
help our Nation crawl out of our deep economic hole. Let's stop digging 
and start crawling out.
  When you focus over a quarter of a century on more outsourcing of 
jobs and importing goods than on exporting goods and creating jobs 
here, our country ends up indebted and we are indebted to China, 
indebted to Mexico, indebted to Japan and all the other creditors who 
will be knocking on our grandchildren's doors.
  When you conduct two wars and don't pay for them, you make it even 
worse. But not to recognize those two deficits, the trade deficit as 
well as the budget deficit, is to live in a world of delusion.
  In 2008, our largest trade deficit was in oil with countries in the 
Middle East, and the bottom line is that that trade advantages them, 
not us.
  If you look at overall trade between the United States, Canada and 
Mexico, that's governed by NAFTA, the North American Free Trade 
Agreement. We are now at record imports from both countries, not 
exports, record imports, $74.2 billion in the red with Canada last year 
and $63.5 billion in the red with Mexico.
  The same is true with Communist China, where we are in a $266 billion 
deficit, a record high. Japan is no different, $72.6 billion there.
  The top trade gap we continue to face is imported oil. Overall, the 
U.S. imported 3.6 billion barrels of crude oil in 2008 worth $342 
billion, our chief strategic vulnerability.
  Unemployment continues to rise nationally, over 7.2 percent, and in 
districts like mine and many counties over 12.5 percent. Dr. Peter 
Morici of the University of Maryland has written, ``Lost growth is 
cumulative. Thanks to the record trade deficits accumulated over the 
last 10 years, the U.S. economy is about $1.5 trillion smaller. This 
comes out to about $10,000 per worker,'' and every American middle 
class family feels it.
  How are we going to change this, Mr. President? America needs 
balanced trade accounts, not delusion. We need open markets, not closed 
markets. We need a rule of law, not undemocratic practices. We need 
realism, not delusion.

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