[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4154]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       FAIRNESS IN TRADE TARIFFS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, recently Congressman Dale 
Kildee and myself have introduced H.R. 4808.
  We both are very concerned about the jobs that continue to go 
overseas, ``outsourcing'' some people call it. And with this bill what 
we are speaking to is the tariff situation that will exist between 
China and America.
  In 2008, the Chinese will be selling in America Chinese cars that are 
made in China. These cars obviously will be made by people who make in 
many cases less than $1 an hour, $1.25 an hour, no benefits, but yet 
they will be selling these cars in this country.
  What Mr. Kildee and I have done, along with other Members in both 
parties, is to say, we want to see fairness in this arrangement. If we 
try to sell an American car in China today, tonight, tomorrow we would 
pay 28 percent tariff. When the Chinese sell their cars in this country 
in the year 2008, they will pay 2.5 percent.
  What this bill does is simple. It says fairness, fair trade. What is 
good for the Chinese economy should be good for the American economy. 
What is good for the American economy, let it be good for the Chinese 
economy. But for this country, we have lost so many manufacturing jobs 
in my own State of North Carolina. Since NAFTA was enacted, we have 
lost over 200,000 manufacturing jobs. Just the past 4 years, between 
2001 and 2005, we have lost 2.9 million manufacturing jobs in this 
country.
  This Nation cannot and will not remain strong if we do not have a 
manufacturing base. So this bill that Mr. Kildee and I have put in is 
very simple. I will repeat it again and then I will close very shortly.
  That is, if we are going to accept Chinese cars to be sold in this 
country in 2008, and right now they will pay a 2.8 percent tariff while 
we are selling American cars in China and American cars have a tariff 
of 28 percent.
  Madam Speaker, I will tell you this, I think the American people are 
tired and really kind of fed up, if you will, with the fact that we 
have not done a better job in this Congress, both sides, of trying to 
protect the American worker. This really is a bill that we are trying 
to send a message. With the WTO and the relationship we have, it would 
be very difficult for this bill to be signed by the President, but Mr. 
Kildee and I believe that the Congress, on the floor of this House, 
should debate H.R. 4808 and let the American people, or as good as the 
American people, let the negotiators know that the Congress does care 
about fairness in these trade agreements.
  With that, Madam Speaker, I will close by saying that I appreciate 
the honor of serving in the House. I hope that we will always do our 
best to protect American jobs and the American worker.
  I also want to close by asking God to please bless our men and women 
in uniform. And, God, please bless the families of our men and women in 
uniform. And, God, please bless America.

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