[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6387-6388]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORITY

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, later today the Senate will vote on whether 
to proceed to a bill that was reported out of the Senate Finance 
Committee, on which I serve, the trade promotion authority legislation. 
What is so remarkable about this is that we are on the cusp here in the 
Senate of passing a major piece of legislation--bipartisan legislation 
on which a Republican majority in the Senate is working with a 
Democratic President to give him trade promotion authority--something 
that would be very good for our economy. If the Democrats in the Senate 
do not blow it, this could be a major hallmark achievement of this 
Congress. But my understanding is there is an effort on the other side 
now to prevent us from even getting on the bill to debate it. I hope 
that as Democrats contemplate that move, they will think long and hard 
about what they will be doing. Not only will they be undermining their 
own President, who is very much for this, but they will be hurting the 
American economy. Almost every President, literally back to FDR, has 
had trade promotion authority in which he has the ability to negotiate 
trade agreements with our trading partners in a way that Congress 
ultimately has to approve but in a way that expedites and gives the 
maximum amount of leverage to get the best trade agreement possible.
  We are taking up that legislation, hopefully, later today. But it is 
all going to depend on Senate Democrats and whether they want to 
proceed to this bill or not. I certainly hope, as I said, that they 
will come to the conclusion that it is in the best interests of our 
country, of our economy, and certainly, I think, in the best interests 
of creating a bipartisan achievement here in which they are working 
with their own President and with Republicans here in the Senate.
  With 96 percent of the world's consumers outside the borders of the 
United States, trade is essential to growing our economy and opening 
new markets for products marked ``Made in the USA.''
  Over the past few years, exports have been a bright spot in our 
economy, supporting an increasing number of American jobs each and 
every year. In fact, in 2014 exports supported 11.7 million U.S. jobs 
and made up 13 percent of our Nation's economy.
  In my home State of South Dakota alone, exports support more than 
15,000 jobs in industries that range from farming and ranching to 
machinery and electronics. We need to continue to open markets around 
the globe to American goods and services. The best way to do that is 
through new trade agreements. Countries with which we have free and 
fair trade agreements purchase substantially more from us than other 
countries.
  In fact, in 2013, free-trade agreement countries purchased 12 times 
more goods and services per capita from the United States than non-
free-trade agreement countries. Let me restate that. In 2013, those 
countries with which we have a free-trade agreement purchased 12 times 
more goods per capita from the United States than those countries with 
which we do not have a free-trade agreement.
  It is not just American farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers who 
benefit from trade agreements. American consumers benefit as well. 
Trade agreements give American families access to a greater variety of 
goods at lower prices.
  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that trade increases American 
families' purchasing power by $10,000 annually. For American workers, 
increased trade means more opportunity and increased access to high-
paying jobs. Manufacturing jobs tied to exports pay on average 13 to 18 
percent more than wages in other areas of our economy.
  Unfortunately, while trade agreements were proliferated around the 
globe over the past several years, the United States has not signed a 
new trade agreement in 5 years. Altogether, the United States has just 
14 trade agreements currently in effect. That is a lot of lost 
opportunity for American workers and businesses, since trade agreements 
have proved to be the best way to increase demand for American products 
and services.
  A big reason for the lack of trade agreements in recent years is the 
fact that trade promotion authority expired in 2007. As I said earlier, 
since 1934--you have to go back to the administration of FDR--almost 
all of the United States' free-trade agreements have been negotiated 
using trade promotion authority or a similar streamlined process. Trade 
promotion authority is designed to put the United States in the 
strongest possible position when it comes to negotiating trade 
agreements.
  Under TPA, Congress sets guidelines for trade negotiations and 
outlines the priorities the administration has to follow. In return, 
Congress promises a

[[Page 6388]]

simple up-or-down vote on the resulting trade agreement, instead of a 
long amendment process that could leave the final deal looking nothing 
like what was negotiated. That simple up-or-down vote is the key. It 
lets our negotiating partners know that Congress and trade negotiators 
are on the same page, which gives other countries the confidence they 
need to put their best offers on the table, and that in turn allows for 
a successful and timely conclusion to negotiations.
  Currently, the administration is negotiating two major trade 
agreements that have the potential to vastly expand the market for 
American goods and services in the European Union and in the Pacific.
  The Trans-Pacific Partnership is being negotiated with a number of 
Asia-Pacific nations, including Australia, Japan, New Zealand, 
Singapore, and Vietnam.
  If this agreement is done right, there could be huge benefits for 
American agriculture, among other industries. Currently, American 
agricultural products face heavy tariffs in many Trans-Pacific 
Partnership countries. Poultry tariffs in TPP countries, for example, 
can reach a staggering 240 percent. Reducing the barriers to American 
agricultural products in these countries would have enormous benefits 
for American farmers and ranchers.
  Agricultural producers in my State of South Dakota have contacted me 
to tell me how trade benefits their industries and to urge support for 
trade promotion authority as the most effective way to secure trade 
agreements that will benefit South Dakota farmers and ranchers.
  The leader of the South Dakota Dairy Producers Association wrote to 
me about the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, which could have 
significant benefits for South Dakota dairy farmers, and urged me to 
vote in favor of trade promotion authority. He said the Trans-Pacific 
Partnership talks ``have the potential to be positive for our dairy 
industry, but only if the U.S. insists on settling for nothing less 
than a balanced deal that delivers net trade benefits for the dairy 
industry. Passing TPA is a key part of getting there.'' That is from a 
dairy producer in my State of South Dakota.
  Mr. President, passing TPA is a key part of getting there. Neither 
the Trans-Pacific Partnership nor the United States-European Union 
trade agreement is likely to be completed in a timely fashion without 
trade promotion authority. If we want to make sure that trade 
negotiations achieve the goals of American farmers and manufacturers, 
trade promotion authority is essential.
  The bipartisan bill we are considering on the Senate floor this week 
reauthorizes trade promotion authority, and it includes a number of 
important updates, such as provisions to strengthen the transparency of 
the negotiating process and ensure that the American people stay 
informed.
  It also contains provisions that I pushed for to require negotiators 
to ensure that trade agreements promote digital trade as well as trade 
in physical goods and services. Given the increasing importance of 
digitally enabled commerce in the 21st-century economy, it is essential 
that our trade agreements include new rules that keep digital trade 
free from unnecessary government interference.
  This trade promotion authority bill will help ensure that any trade 
deals the United States enters into will be favorable to American 
farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers, and it will hold other countries 
accountable for their unfair practices. Passing this bill is essential 
to prevent American workers and businesses from being left behind in 
the global economy.
  Since Republicans took control of the Senate in January, Democrats 
and Republicans have come together on a number of issues to pass 
legislation to address challenges that are facing our country. I hope 
this bill will be our next bipartisan achievement.
  The President has made it clear that he supports this bill, and key 
Democratic Senators are working to make sure it passes. I hope the rest 
of the Democratic Party here in the Senate will come together with the 
President and Republicans to get this done.
  As President Obama said the other day, ``We have to make sure that 
America writes the rules of the global economy. . . . Because if we 
don't write the rules for trade around the world--guess what--China 
will. And they'll write those rules in a way that gives Chinese workers 
and Chinese businesses the upper hand, and locks American-made goods 
out.'' Again, that is a quote from President Obama.
  To put it another way, if America fails to lead on trade, other 
nations will step in to fill the void, and those nations will not have 
the best interests of American workers and American families in mind.
  It is time to pass trade promotion authority so we can secure 
favorable new trade deals and ensure that American goods and services 
can compete on a level playing field around the globe and that American 
workers and American consumers receive the benefits that come along 
with that. I hope that will be the outcome of the vote today, and I 
hope it will be a major achievement for this Senate--a bipartisan 
achievement where both sides work together for the good of our economy, 
for the good of jobs, for the good of higher wage levels for American 
workers, and for the good of a more competitive economy in which our 
consumers benefit.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.

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