[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 23807]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 ANTI-DUMPING LAWS LAST LINE OF DEFENSE AGAINST UNFAIRLY TRADED IMPORTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2001, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) is recognized 
during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, despite the overwhelming passage of a 
sense of Congress resolution urging the President to keep U.S. anti-
dumping laws off of Qatar's negotiating table, the U.S. Trade 
Representative, Bob Zoellick, did just the opposite after a 410 to 4 
vote.
  U.S. officials have signaled that they are willing to negotiate on 
trade dumping laws that provide safeguards against countries selling 
products in the U.S. marketplace at below cost. The American steel 
industry, like so many others, relies on anti-dumping laws as their 
last line of defense against unfairly traded imports.
  Unfortunately, since the WTO Uruguay Round, the steel industry's 
ability to defend itself against dumping has been severely weakened. 
Now, in Qatar, a couple of weeks ago, the U.S. Trade Representative has 
remained open to further weakening the rules on trade dumping, further 
jeopardizing American steel, further threatening American jobs.
  Many of us were concerned about Qatar long before the negotiations 
began. It is a country that does not allow free elections. It is a 
country that does not allow freedom of expression. It is a country 
where women are treated not much differently from the way women are 
treated by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

                              {time}  1245

  It is a country where public worship by non-Muslims is banned. The 
message that sends to people around the world that the trade ministers 
of all of the nations in the world are meeting in a city, in a country, 
where public protest will not be allowed, where free speech is not 
allowed, where public expression is not allowed, where freedom of 
worship is not allowed, and where free elections are not allowed, the 
message that sends is troubling. It is troubling because all too often 
our own trade minister, Robert Zoellick, has used in the past language 
to suggest that those of us who do not support his free trade agenda, 
his agenda to weaken environmental standards, to weaken labor standards 
around the world, those of us who do not support this free trade 
agenda, he implies, are indifferent to terrorism. He has questioned our 
patriotism saying, we do not really share American values if we do not 
support Fast Track, if we do not support his trade legislation because, 
he tells us, that is the way to combat terrorism around the world: You 
are either with us or you are against us. Many of us resent the U.S. 
Trade Representative questioning our patriotism, claiming we are 
indifferent to terrorism because we believe his Fast Track proposal is 
not coincident with American values and does not do the right things 
for our country.
  Supporters of Fast Track argue that the U.S. is being left behind. 
They tell us we need Fast Track to increase American exports and 
provide new jobs for American workers. But this country's history of 
flawed trade agreements has led to a trade deficit with the rest of the 
world that surges well above $350 billion. The 2000 trade deficit is 40 
percent higher than the previous record set in 1999. The Department of 
Labor has reported that NAFTA, and these are very conservative 
government figures, that NAFTA has caused the loss of 300,000 jobs.
  The American steel industry is no stranger to trade-induced 
adversity. Thousands of steel workers have lost their jobs. Mr. 
Speaker, 25 companies have filed for bankruptcy, 16 in the last year. 
We import 39 million tons of steel, double the 16 million tons we 
imported only 10 years ago, and steel prices, because of that, are 
below 1998 levels. In my home district, steel workers from LTV are 
learning firsthand that our trade policies put American workers in 
jeopardy. LTV terminated negotiations with its major union and went to 
bankruptcy court seeking permission to shut down its steel-making 
operations in anticipation of its sale. Now 11,000 jobs and the 
pensions and health benefits of more than 65,000 retirees and surviving 
spouses hang in the balance. LTV and the rest of the steel industry 
need Congress' assistance in solving this problem. Fast Track is not 
the answer. While our trade agreements go to great lengths to protect 
investors and protect property rights, these agreements do not include 
enforceable protections for workers or for the environment.
  CEOs of multinational corporations tell us that globalization 
stimulates development and allows nations to improve their 
environmental and labor record. The truth is, flawed trade agreements 
cost American jobs, put downward pressure on U.S. wages and working 
conditions, and erode the ability of government to protect public 
health and to protect the environment. If we fail to include these 
important provisions and trade agreements, multinational corporations 
will continue to dismiss labor and environmental protection as 
discretionary and wholly unnecessary. Global working conditions, global 
living conditions will continued to suffer.
  We need to press for U.S. trade policy with provisions that protect 
American workers. We need to press for a U.S. trade policy with 
provisions that protect the American environment. We have experienced 
an economic slowdown, a drop in the stock market. Fast Track will not 
solve that problem, it will only make it worse.

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