[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 142 (Tuesday, September 20, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1311]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              US-UK TRADE

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 20, 2016

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, in the days leading up to the Brexit 
referendum, the President told our friend, Britain that if they were to 
leave the European Union, they would end up at the ``back of the 
queue'' for a trade deal. What an absurd statement to make to our most 
important ally. Throughout history we have worked side by side with the 
U.K. to overcome global crises. After the disastrous foreign policy for 
the last eight years, America has few true friends left in this world. 
A free trade agreement between the U.S. and the U.K. should not be at 
the back of the line, but at the front.
  The U.S. and Britain share a common heritage and values. We also have 
a deep and longstanding trade relationship grounded in our 
complimentary economies. The U.S. exported over $76 billion in planes, 
helicopters, spacecraft, and aircraft parts to the U.K. in 2014. Our 
inability to work towards a trade agreement with the U.K. will 
negatively affect more than 40 Aerospace companies in Texas alone. We 
are Britain's most important trading partner. The U.S. imports over $56 
billion in goods every year from Britain and 20 percent of our exports 
bound for the EU end up in the U.K. market. We are also a major 
investor in the British economy, with U.S. foreign direct investment 
nearing $588 billion in 2014. Unlike the Transatlantic Trade and 
Investment Partnership (TTIP), a trade deal with the U.K. would be 
simple to broker. It could be as easy as expanding NAFTA to include the 
U.K., or creating a new model for more simplified trade agreements with 
individual countries in the future. A trade agreement with the U.K. 
would not only deepen our close friendship, but would also chip away at 
non-tariff regulatory barriers that are being built around the European 
Union, such as the different requirements for testing the safety of 
cars and drugs. A more streamlined and efficient trading relationship 
would reap benefits for both Washington and London.
  Britain's exit from the EU should be looked at as an American 
opportunity. The prospect of a bilateral U.S.-U.K. trade agreement is 
exciting; such an agreement would promote economic freedom, champion 
national sovereignty, and create a new model for other bilateral trade 
agreements.
  We have entered a strange time in politics--one in which free trade 
has never been more unpopular. Brexit presents a unique opportunity to 
demonstrate the positive impacts of free trade with one of our closest 
allies. We have already seen what can happen to global markets if the 
U.K. appears isolated: in the wake of the Brexit referendum the British 
pound plummeted by 7.6 percent against the dollar. Britain's continued 
seclusion will only cause more harm than good for the rest of us. And 
it doesn't end there. Economic disaster in London will translate into a 
reassessment of military and diplomatic relations in Washington. For 
the Administration to ignore both these risks and opportunities is a 
disservice to both our interests and those of our friends across the 
pond.
  And that's just the way it is.

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