[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 2, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H3051]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AMERICA'S WORKERS NEED JOBS AND A RENEGOTIATED NAFTA
(Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute.)
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, President Trump claims to have brought
profound change in his first 100 days in office, but thus far, on jobs,
our trade deficit continues to rise.
Rather than fulfill his promise to directly renegotiate NAFTA, the
President signed another ``dodge 'em'' executive order asking for a 6-
month delay by reviewing all U.S. trade agreements. That could take
forever. His NAFTA backtrack presents a serious problem for Americans
who continue to lose their jobs to NAFTA's broken promises.
None will be more impacted than Americans working in the automotive
sector. Last year, our country's automotive trade gap with Mexico was
deep in the red again. As a result, our country imported 800,000 more
cars from Mexico than we exported.
This is what it looked like back in 1993. This is what it looks like
today. Is it any wonder that Americans are concerned about jobs?
In agricultural trade among NAFTA partners, 2 million small-scale
Mexican farmers were thrown off their farms and out of work. This
fueled the immigration crisis and subwage workers across our continent
as poverty continued--no different than 1993.
America's workers don't need any more studies or delays. We need jobs
and a renegotiated NAFTA now.
____________________