[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16652]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                 CAFTA

  (Mr. REICHERT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, the United States is a leader in today's 
global economy. As countries around the world work and trade together 
at a rapidly growing pace, we must stay competitive to remain a 
contender. The Central American Free Trade Agreement will help us do 
just that.
  My home State of Washington is the most trade dependent State in the 
country. One in three jobs in Washington depends on trade. We must 
embrace CAFTA and see it as an opportunity to stimulate our economy and 
be actively involved in a world market. The United States cannot afford 
to shrink from international trade and establish itself as an 
isolationist. The absence of our participation will only be seen as an 
opportunity by competing nations like China. Whether we are prepared to 
acknowledge it or not, we are in a global economy.
  Mr. Speaker, this trade agreement builds America. In establishing an 
open exchange with the Central American countries, we build our foreign 
relations. By increasing circulation of goods, we build our economy. 
And in taking this step forward, we build on the future and the 
possibility that the entire Western hemisphere will one day be open to 
free trade. CAFTA looks to the future of our country. I urge my 
colleagues to support this agreement.

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