[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 152 (Wednesday, October 12, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1838]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            EXTENDING THE GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. ALLEN B. WEST

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 11, 2011

  Mr. WEST. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Free 
Trade Agreements with Panama, Korea and Columbia. These long overdue 
trade agreements will increase exports, lower the trade deficit and 
stimulate much-needed economic growth in the United States.
  Free market competition is the proven way to create wealth and jobs 
in the economy. When the Federal Government attempts to create winners 
and losers, the American people get the short end of the stick.
  South Florida is the gateway to Latin America, and the trade 
agreements with Colombia and Panama will support and create jobs in 
Florida and throughout the nation by leveling the playing field for 
United States goods and services.
  Today, nearly all imports from Colombia and Panama enter the United 
States market duty free, but these countries continue to impose tariffs 
on our farm and manufactured goods exports that often soar into the 
double digits. Colombia currently collects $100 in tariffs on United 
States exports for every $1 the United States collects in tariffs on 
Colombian goods, and a similar lopsidedness holds back American export 
sales to Panama.
  The free trade agreements will eliminate these tariffs and other 
barriers United States exporters face, and will create new 
opportunities for the sale of American products. In addition, they will 
secure the intellectual property of United States inventors, 
researchers, and creators; open services markets; and protect American 
investors and the jobs they support in the United States.
  The independent United States International Trade Commission 
estimates that implementation of the three pending trade agreements 
would increase American exports by at least $13 billion and add at 
least $10 billion to our nation's Gross Domestic Product per year, 
which would mean 250,000 new jobs in the United States. Passing all 
three pending trade agreements will directly benefit small and medium-
sized businesses, as well as the hundreds of thousands of American jobs 
they create.
  Exports are critical to United States economic growth, and will have 
a significant, positive impact to my Congressional District that is 
home to two major ports--Port Everglades and the Port of Palm Beach. In 
1986, exports equaled 7.2 percent of GDP. In 2010, exports equaled 
nearly 13 percent of GDP.
  In 2010 alone, the State of Florida exported more than $4.2 billion 
to Colombia, Panama and South Korea combined. This represents a 
significant increase over the last decade. With the passage of the Free 
Trade Agreements, all indications point to significantly increased 
exports for the State of Florida.
  Finally, the implementation of each of these Free Trade Agreements is 
important for our security and geostrategic goals. Each of the 
agreements will strengthen the United States' relationship with South 
Korea, Colombia and Panama, some of our country's strongest partners in 
advancing both regional and global security.
  However, in May of 2011, President Barack Obama's Administration 
announced that it would not submit these three long-pending, job-
creating trade agreements to the United States Congress unless ``trade 
adjustment assistance'' benefits (TAA) were renewed and expanded.
  Quite simply, TAA is a federal program that sends cash and provides 
other benefits to workers whose jobs are purportedly affected 
negatively by trade. As a letter that was sent to Republican Leadership 
earlier this year states, ``TAA is undoubtedly--and deliberately 
designed as--a federal wealth redistribution program that has no 
business existing in a free society.''
  Furthermore, the central components of these TAA programs--job-
training, unemployment subsidies, and health-care subsidies--are 
available under dozens of other federal programs. In all, there are 
currently 47 government-sponsored and taxpayer-funded job training 
programs that received over $18 billion in Fiscal Year 2009. There are 
eight taxpayer-funded programs that provide unemployment insurance, and 
six taxpayer-funded programs that provide health insurance--all 
duplicative to programs found within TAA.
  TAA accepts the premise that free trade is bad and needs to be offset 
by another federal program paid for by the American taxpayers. By 
strictly assisting workers who claim job losses due to trade, the 
program provides an incentive to exaggerate the negative impact on jobs 
due to free trade. In my assessment, TAA programs amount to subsidized 
excuses. Americans can openly compete with anyone in the free market--
we do not need government creating victims.
  I will not support H.R. 2832 because TAA programs allow the Federal 
Government to pick winners and losers. As The Heritage Foundation 
recently analogized, ``the worker who loses his job to a foreign 
competitor should receive the same treatment as the Blockbuster 
employee who lost his job to Netflix.''
  Free trader benefits all parties involved--from consumers to business 
owners and farmers, to the port employees in my Congressional District. 
Free market competition and enterprise through free trade agreements 
should not be held back by what amounts to another duplicated, wasteful 
Federal Government program.

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