[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14542]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1230
                     PENDING FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS

  (Mr. MORAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak for the three bilateral trade 
agreements which the President submitted to the Congress yesterday. I 
applaud the administration on the negotiated revisions to these 
agreements, which will improve market access in Korea, tax transparency 
in Panama, and labor rights in Colombia. Through their hard work, our 
trade negotiators, led by Ambassador Kirk, have made real and 
significant improvements to these agreements. Their passage is long 
overdue.
  While political negotiations over previously uncontroversial Trade 
Adjustment Assistance programs have dragged on here in Washington, 
American businesses have been losing market share in these three 
countries. For example, in the first month after the European Union-
South Korea free trade agreement went into effect in July, EU exports 
to South Korea increased 36 percent over the year before. Meanwhile, 
U.S. market share has been steadily declining, from 21 percent 10 years 
ago to 9 percent today. Colombia has implemented trade accords with its 
neighbors and with Canada and will soon implement an agreement with the 
European Union, but U.S. exporters still face an average of 9 percent 
in tariffs. These treaty agreements need to be passed to create jobs.

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