Andean Trade Preference Act Extension
Floor Speech
ANDEAN TRADE PREFERENCE ACT EXTENSION -- (House of Representatives - June 27, 2007)
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Mr. BLUMENAUER. I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy, as I appreciate what my colleague from Ohio said a moment ago. But with all due respect, I couldn't disagree with her more.
First of all, what is brought here today is not a NAFTA-type agreement. Bear in mind, this is being urged for approval by the Council of Textile Organizations, the Bush administration and the AFL-CIO. It is an 8-month extension for us to be able to move forward in an orderly fashion.
We have, in fact, heard concerns that have been voiced by our friend from Ohio and others. That's why the committee is hard at work. And I commend the leadership of Chairman Rangel and Chairman Levin to be able to put together a framework on a bipartisan basis that speaks to those concerns. I am quite confident when we bring forward the FTAs that they are decidedly not NAFTA-type agreements.
I think the gentlelady is right, there are certain parts of this decision that were made beyond perhaps the chairman, but there are also two bodies that are at work. And our chairman has been working to be able to accommodate a complex set of issues going forward.
This 8-month extension ought to be welcomed because it will enable more concrete information to be available that I think will raise the comfort level of the gentlelady. It will certainly speak to the concerns that I have heard back home, and will underscore the hard work that this committee has been doing.
I respectfully suggest that the work that we're going to see, for example, with the environment in Peru, with illegal logging, with what's happening with the environmental sector, labor standards, these are going to provide a more complete package that is going to enable us to have trade, provide that two-way comfort level, and work for all concerns.
In the meantime, I would strongly recommend that we support this extension under an expedited process that will enable us to return to this floor with a more comprehensive approach, and that will enable us to move our entire agenda forward.
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