Dominican Repbulic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC-CENTRAL AMERICA-UNITED STATES FREE TRADE AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTATION ACT

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Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I rise to speak in favor of this agreement. Twelve years ago, I rose in this Chamber to speak about NAFTA to express a vision that free trade will one day encompass all of North, Central, and South America. Today, we have an opportunity to further that vision by entering into an agreement that will strengthen U.S. trade relations and promote democratic reform in Central America.

CAFTA will provide the U.S. exports with market access to Central America, similar to the duty-free access we have given Central American exports. Although nearly 80 percent of Central American and the Dominican Republic exports enter the U.S. duty free, America continues to pay high tariffs on over $1.5 billion of annual exports to Central America, our tenth largest export market globally.

CAFTA rectifies this inconsistency by providing open market access to U.S. goods, services, and farm product exports. Specifically, over 80 percent of U.S. consumer and industrial product exports to Central America and the Dominican Republic will be duty free immediately upon implementation of CAFTA. The remaining tariffs are phased out over 10 years.

Almost 20 years ago, Central American countries were ruled by dictators and communist insurgencies creating chaos and fostering corruption. With American support and encouragement, Central America has evolved into a region of fragile democracies. Elected leaders are welcoming freedom and encouraging economic diversity, while looking to the United States for a means to develop a mutually beneficial relationship. CAFTA allows the United States to strengthen the economic ties we currently have with Central America and the Dominican Republic, while supporting political stability.

History shows us that bilateral and regional free-trade agreements promote economic growth by significantly increasing U.S. exports. In my home State of Texas, exports to Chile have doubled since the Chile free-trade agreement was implemented in 2004. The success of NAFTA in the last 10 years yields similar results. Since NAFTA was implemented, combined exports from America to Mexico and Canada have increased by more than 150 percent in Texas, and 113 percent nationally.

CAFTA shows the same promise and encourages U.S. growth as well. One out of ten jobs in the United States depends on exports. Similarly, foreign companies which invest in the United States create jobs. In fact, since 1990, foreign companies have invested more than $1.5 trillion and employed more than 6 million U.S. workers. Free-trade agreements encourage export growth and help create jobs.

I think it is important, also, to look at this from a hemispheric point of view. I do believe that it is important that we have free trade from the very north, Canada, all the way through the tip of South America. Strengthening our hemisphere will be good for America, and it will be good for every country in this hemisphere. It will also help us with many of the problems that we face with disparate economies. Many of our immigration issues come from people wanting to come to the United States because they cannot earn a living for their own families where they live. It is not that they want to leave their countries, it is that they are trying to provide for their families. If we have more free trade in our hemisphere, people will be able to support their families where they live, and we will have healthy economic relations with those countries rather than dealing with that on the basis of an immigration problem.

So I do think that as we are looking at the places where we can strengthen economies, and where it is in our best interests to strengthen economies, we should look in our own backyard. We are having trade issues with China and with the European Union. Why not look to our own hemisphere, our own backyard, for strengthened relationships? That is what CAFTA will continue us on the right track to do. We have NAFTA and now we have Canada, the United States and Mexico; we have Chile and we have other countries in South America. I think the Central American agreement will add another component to that.

I want free trade with every country in South America with which we can get an agreement. This is a very important part of our long-term stability and the strength of our economy and the economy of our whole hemisphere.

I hope we will look at the big picture. I know that many Senators are concerned about jobs in their States and the impact this might have. Many people in Texas were very concerned about NAFTA because of the labor being less expensive just across the border, but NAFTA has been an overall plus for Texas, as it has been for America. We want to continue to strengthen our relationships with Mexico, Central America, and all the way through the tip of South America.

Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to support this agreement.

I ask unanimous consent that the time I consumed be charged to Senator Grassley.

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