[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 21803]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     ADMINISTRATION'S PROTECTIONISM

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, American dairy farmers are struggling, and 
expanding markets around the world could help them greatly. The 
President's placing of a 35 percent tariff on imports of Chinese tires 
last Friday is likely to start a trade war.
  This time of recession is no time to shut down rural trade or spark 
wider trade wars. Instead, we should look for opportunities to open up 
new markets for American products.
  We have three free trade agreements currently sitting on the table, 
South Korea, Colombia and Panama, which the administration has 
virtually ignored since the President took office. Combined, these 
agreements represent more than 100 million new customers for American 
products. New markets could go a long way in increasing demand for 
American products and saving family farms that have operated for 
generations.
  I believe American agriculture and industry can compete worldwide, 
but we need to break down barriers, not create new ones.

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