[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15151]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORITY

  (Mr. KNOLLENBERG asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KNOLLENBERG. Mr. Speaker, Congress must pass trade promotion 
authority. International trade is an essential part of the U.S. 
economy. But when it comes to trade agreements, the U.S. is lagging 
behind significantly. Of the 130 preferential trade agreements that 
exist, the U.S. is a party to only two: NAFTA and a free trade 
agreement with Israel. That is it. The European Union has 27, 20 of 
which have been negotiated in the last 10 years. While the rest of the 
world is moving rapidly ahead, we are not.
  Canada, our neighbor to the north, has agreements throughout the 
southern hemisphere. There are currently over 12 million U.S. jobs that 
depend upon exports. American jobs that export goods pay up to 18 
percent more than the U.S. national average. As we can see, trade 
agreements are a crucial element for the success of the U.S. economy. 
Remember, the jobs stay here; the products are exported overseas.
  Mr. Speaker, in order to get back in the game and develop a stronger 
economy, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting trade promotion 
authority.

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