[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 7493-7494]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        PENDING TRADE AGREEMENTS

  Mr. JOHANNS. Mr. President, I come to the floor this afternoon during 
World Trade Week to urge President Obama to submit pending free-trade 
agreements: Korea, Panama, and Colombia. I hope this is the last time I 
come to the floor on this issue until we are actually debating these 
job-creating agreements, but I must admit I feel as though I am holding 
my breath.
  Mr. President, 1,420 days have passed since the U.S.-Korea Free Trade 
Agreement was signed; 1,422 days have passed since we signed an 
agreement with Panama, and it has been 1,640 days since we completed 
negotiations with our close ally, Colombia.
  We have heard the administration tout the job-creating benefits of 
the agreements, so why more roadblocks? Our unemployment rate is nearly 
10 percent. Our workers deserve a consistent message on job creation 
from this administration. It has been over a month since President 
Obama and the President of Colombia made an announcement. The 
announcement was that negotiations had been completed, I might add, yet 
again. I was relieved that President Obama finally announced there was 
an agreement and that there was a need to complete the long overdue 
agreement.
  I am confident the agreement brought to the Senate and the House 
would finally win bipartisan support, and I still am today. In fact, 
over a month ago, in the Wall Street Journal, my colleagues, Senators 
Baucus and Kerry, called for Congress to ``restore a broadly-shared 
bipartisan consensus on trade.'' Now the administration seems to be 
moving the goalposts, suggesting continued delay. They are trying to 
hold up these agreements to force us to make spending increases that 
were contained in the ill-fated economic stimulus bill.
  During the challenging economic times that our Nation has endured, we 
should all be doing all we can to exert every single ounce of energy to 
get our economy moving again and create jobs. This is not done by 
heavyhanded government, massive new spending, and new entitlements when 
our current programs are unsustainable. It is accomplished by lowering 
and removing barriers to our job creators so they can flourish. Korea, 
Panama, and Colombia all have much higher barriers to our exports than 
we have to their imports. These three bipartisan votes should have been 
near the top of the agenda 2 years ago. By now we should be voting on 
new agreements that this administration has negotiated, not the 
leftovers from the previous administration.
  We will need an even greater focus on leveling the playing field 
through trade agreements if we are going to double our exports in the 
next 5 years, which is the goal the President has set. Yet the 
administration, claiming that reopening negotiations with Korea, 
Colombia, and Panama was necessary, continues to talk through these 
agreements. I am not saying every single agreement before us, or 
hopefully before us, is perfect. No agreement ever is. However, let's 
not forget that these agreements were originally negotiated in good 
faith between allies. What does this delay do to our reputation as a 
reliable negotiating partner?
  Back where I come from in Nebraska, a lot of business is still done 
with a handshake. We trust our neighbors because they are good people 
with good values. But if one makes a deal with someone and shakes on 
the deal and they keep changing the terms or delaying the 
followthrough, one tends to stop dealing with those people. I sure hope 
that does not happen to us.
  The fastest growing opportunities for American businesses, farms, and 
ranches are outside of our borders. Our greatest opportunities are 
overseas in rapidly developing countries. I fear that these long delays 
have hurt our ability, the ability of our government to negotiate high-
quality trade agreements. But, most importantly, it has hurt the 
ability of Americans to compete in these growing marketplaces.
  Let's not pretend this delay has not cost American workers. Since the 
Colombia agreement was initially signed all those days ago, our 
businesses and our agricultural producers have paid nearly $3.5 billion 
in tariffs for goods exported. That is enormous, especially when we 
consider that the U.S. International Trade Commission estimates that an 
American job is supported for every $166,000 in exports.
  Instead of wasting money on tariff payments, the U.S. manufacturing 
and agricultural sectors could have spent billions of dollars creating 
jobs at home.
  I hope we can soon get past the continued delays and the 
administration can signal to us that they are serious about doubling 
exports in 5 years.
  On July 1, less than 2 months away from now, the trade agreement 
between the European Union and South Korea goes into effect. It is also 
the date that the FTA between Canada and Colombia goes into effect. The 
negotiators for other countries are watching the United States, and 
they have seen a lack of trade policy. They have seen a change here, 
and they are doing everything they can to fill that vacuum with 
negotiated and approved agreements. Now our exporters will face even 
greater competition when our

[[Page 7494]]

trade agreements are approved, and hopefully they will be.
  The President said it very well in his State of the Union Address:

       If America sits on the sidelines while other nations sign 
     trade agreements, we will lose the chance to create jobs on 
     our shores.

  That is exactly what is happening. I will give one example. In 2007 
American wheat farmers supplied Colombia with almost 70 percent of the 
wheat market, even though they faced tariffs of 10 to 35 percent. By 
2010 our wheat farmers' share of the market had dropped to 46 percent. 
Where did that business go?
  Meanwhile, Canada's share grew from 24 to 33 percent. That percentage 
will skyrocket when Canadian farmers can export their products duty 
free on July 1. Our wheat farmers may effectively be shut out of a 
market that they dominated at one point in time.
  Americans who are out of work know firsthand that an opportunity is 
being missed. Nebraska farmers, businesses, workers, those across the 
country know we can compete with anyone given a level playing field. 
After the absence of leadership on trade in Washington during the last 
2 years, though, the job of competing is harder and harder.
  In proclaiming this week as World Trade Week, the President noted the 
connection between the global economy and prosperity in our own 
country. ``To ensure our success,'' he called for ``a robust, forward-
looking trade agenda that emphasizes exports and domestic job growth.'' 
It is disappointing that the positive steps forward we have seen over 
the past few months have slowed in recent days, and we just cannot 
afford more setbacks.
  I look forward to working with the administration over the next 2 
years on forward-looking trade efforts. Real progress forward would 
produce great opportunity in our country, but we have to get this work 
done first. Therefore, it is my hope that the President will bring to 
us, without delay, the Korea, Panama, and Colombia Trade Agreements for 
us to vote yes.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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