[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 82 (Thursday, May 11, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2901-S2902]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Trade

  Mr. MORAN. Madam President, I come from a State that in some ways is 
very similar to yours, the State of Kansas. You get to see firsthand 
the impact of trade and exports on the people, on jobs, and on the 
economic opportunity of my communities. Our State economy relies on our 
ability to sell the products we grow and manufacture to people around 
the globe.
  Strengthening our trade relationships and expanding market access for 
exports abroad creates a greater opportunity for Kansans today and 
those who follow us. One of my goals has always been to make certain 
that communities across Kansas remain a place in which the young men 
and women who grow up there find it to be a place to raise their 
families. Our ability to do that, especially in a small, rural 
community with agriculture and agricultural exports, is so important. 
It is a way that we can really put America first.
  If our goal is to have an America that has strength and prosperity, 
we ought to continue to focus on improving our Nation's economy. That 
is one of the things that I appreciate--we seem to be focused in such a 
significant way on our ability to grow an economy. I think we are 
poised for much greater things economically.
  ``Economics'' may sound like just one of those words, but what that 
means is more jobs, better jobs, more secure jobs, jobs for our 
children so that maybe they can pay back their student loans. This 
country desperately needs the jobs in the communities across Kansas and 
around the country, and it is really what we call the American dream.
  Trade, including our ability to sell the food and fiber we grow in 
our State, is a key part that drives our economy forward. Almost half 
of the wheat grown in Kansas is exported to foreign markets. What that 
means is, if you weren't doing that, nearly half of the acres planted 
in our State would be idle. That means the communities those farmers 
and ranchers live in and around would have half of the amount of 
economic activity that currently is occurring. American ranchers ship 
over 1 million metric tons of beef to consumers abroad. Thousands of 
acres of corn, sorghum, and soybeans being planted this spring across 
Kansas and the Nation will ultimately be exported.
  Approximately 95 percent of the world's consumers live outside 
America's borders. To reach those consumers, our Nation must produce a 
trade policy that grows the existing export markets while continuously 
building and developing new ones. Without export markets, both 
production and prices would fall for farmers and ranchers, and rural 
communities supported by agriculture would disappear. The revenue 
generated by exports not only keeps family farmers and ranchers afloat, 
it drives rural economies and supports small businesses.
  The aerospace industry, which is so important in Kansas, also relies 
on an integrated supply chain and strong trade policy. Wichita, KS--
appropriately labeled the ``Air Capital of the World''--manufactures 
more than half of the world's general aviation light aircraft and 
business jets. Without trade, aerospace and manufacturing facilities in 
Wichita and surrounding areas and Kansas City and surrounding areas 
would not exist and workers in those factories would be left without 
job opportunities.
  It is critical that we protect these jobs, many of which depend upon 
the United States having a strong economic relationship with Canada and 
Mexico. The North America Free-Trade Agreement, which went into effect 
in 1994, plays a significant role in supporting trade with those two 
neighboring nations.
  Of course, the world and technology have changed since 1994 when that 
agreement was entered into. There are areas of the agreement that can 
be improved and modernized. Many of those changes have been discussed 
and are issues that the United States, Canada, and Mexico agreed to 
during TPP negotiations, such as strengthening our intellectual 
property rights and new provisions for e-commerce.
  If we work collaboratively with Mexico and Canada to address the 
issues with NAFTA, including the issues on which we strongly disagree, 
I am confident we can improve the agreement for all parties. But 
efforts to pull out of NAFTA completely or to weaken our trading 
relationship with Canada and Mexico during renegotiations would cause 
significant damage to the American economy. We must have willing 
negotiators sitting across the table when discussing NAFTA, and that 
starts with treating our neighbors as trade partners and as friends. We 
need to treat these folks as friends, and we need to seize the 
opportunities we have.
  Working together to improve NAFTA or building economic relations with 
other trading partners does not mean America should take a step back 
from enforcing the current rules. Oftentimes in the past, we have been 
too focused on striking trade deals and selling them to the public, but 
we haven't done enough to make sure other countries are playing by the 
rules that are negotiated. Nontariff barriers and unfair trading 
practices by foreign countries harm our producers, workers, and 
consumers.
  We must make certain American producers are competing on a level 
playing field in a global market and that our jobs and wages are not 
being undermined by other countries' efforts to distort trade policies 
and trade agreements.
  Many Americans have lost confidence in trade agreements, and I 
believe that is partly because the benefits of trade agreements have 
been oversold, while the enforcement of unfair trade practices have 
been insufficient. In promoting agreements, leaders had set 
expectations for increased jobs, higher wages, growth in exports, and 
many other metrics that were impossible to meet. When these exaggerated 
promises did not come to fruition, many people lost confidence in those 
trade agreements.
  America should strengthen our commitment to holding other countries 
accountable in order to inspire greater confidence from the American 
public in our Nation's ability to reach a trade agreement that benefits 
us all.
  Weakening our trade relations will cause Kansans to lose jobs. 
Farmers and ranchers will no longer be able to pursue their careers and 
lifestyle. But with strong leadership and smart negotiating, I am 
convinced that America can improve our trade relationships in the world 
and continue to build on the economic successes we have today.
  A robust U.S. economy that provides market opportunities for farmers, 
ranchers, and manufacturers, and job prospects for workers is an 
essential pillar of America's strength and well-being. Strong trade 
relationships, particularly with Canada and Mexico, are primary drivers 
of our Nation's economy. We must protect those relationships and 
carefully consider changes in our approach to trade to be certain that 
Americans continue to benefit from economic opportunities that are 
created by a strong trade policy.
  Madam President, our relationships with Mexico and Canada are 
important and in many ways determine the economic future of the people 
of my State at home.

[[Page S2902]]

  Madam President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. HIRONO. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.