Singapore and Chile Trade Agreement

Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, today the Senate will vote on the Singapore and Chile free-trade agreements. Because I believe that these agreements will benefit New York and will lead to greater economic opportunities for New York companies, I will vote in support of these agreements.

Both the Singapore and Chile free-trade agreements promise to offer new opportunities for United States banks, insurance, securities and related services. These sectors are a critical part of New York's economy. These agreements also include provisions that improve intellectual property protections and open the telecommunications markets in both of these nations.

I share the concerns raised by some of my colleagues regarding the immigration provisions in these agreements. As my colleagues have pointed out, trade agreements are not the place to rewrite our immigration laws. I will be supporting Senator LEAHY's legislation to deny fast-track procedures to trade agreements that include immigration provisions. As you know, I voted against granting Trade Promotion Authority to the President and I believe the inclusion of these immigration provisions provides an example of my concerns about providing the President with Trade Promotion Authority. Despite bipartisan concerns about these provisions, Trade Promotion Authority means that we are unable to fix it.

As for the labor provisions in each agreement, the Chile and Singapore free trade agreements include obligations for each nation to enforce their own domestic labor laws. I believe that a better model for labor provisions is the United States-Jordan Free Trade agreement which included enforceable provisions to uphold International Labor Organizations, ILO, core labor standards. I am concerned that we appear to be backing away from the United States-Jordan FTA model. The labor provisions in the Chile and Singapore agreements should not be used as a model for future trade agreements.

Despite my concerns over the immigration and labor provisions, I believe that, in the aggregate, New York will benefit more from having these agreements pass than if they failed. This vote should not be interpreted as a signal as to how I will vote on future trade agreements. Rather I will look at each agreement in its totality and measure the impact of each agreement on the New Yorkers that I am privileged to represent. Because I believe that passage of the Singapore and Chile free trade agreements will lead to more jobs and greater economic growth in industries that are an important part of New York's economy, I will vote in support of these agreements.