[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17649]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  CAFTA IS GOOD FOR AMERICAN BUSINESS

  (Ms. HART asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. HART. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Dominican Republic-
CAFTA agreement.
  Our colleagues have discussed a lot of issues regarding CAFTA: 
whether it is important to our national security and whether it will 
help those countries to grow and become more secure and prevent some 
illegal immigration into the United States. But one of the most 
important things about this agreement is that it is good for American 
business.
  I do not know about my colleagues, but I am for agreements that help 
our manufacturers, and what I have discovered is that the manufacturers 
in my district will benefit from this agreement. In fact, a significant 
portion of them either currently export or want to export to those 
countries. But currently, there are heavy tariffs placed on their 
products when they arrive in Central America, making those products 
more expensive to the purchasers there. This agreement will remove 
those tariffs and make American products more available to those who 
wish to purchase them in Central America.
  Now, my question is, how can that be bad for American business? It is 
not. It is good for American business, and anybody who is thinking 
about growth in our economy should support the CAFTA agreement.

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