Chicago Tribune - A Congressman's Voting Record on Trade Policy - Editorial

Chicago Tribune

September 13, 2004 Monday
Chicagoland Final Edition

HEADLINE: A congressman's voting record on trade policy

BYLINE: U.S. Rep. William Lipinski (D-Chicago).

BODY:

I read David Hale's opinion piece in the Sept. 7 Tribune criticizing the Chicago congressional delegation's voting record of a "protectionist" trade policy. ("Chicago and U.S. trade policy," Commentary)

Specifically, he criticized the voting record of members such as myself, who "voted against every bill to improve America's trade relations with places as diverse as Canada, Mexico, China, Singapore, Chile and even Africa."

I believe it is my job to promote balanced trade. But over the years, a majority of my colleagues have disagreed with me.

The United States has a $75 billion trade deficit with Canada, a $40 billion trade deficit with Mexico, a $123 billion trade deficit with China, a $1 billion trade deficit with Chile, an $18 billion trade deficit with Africa, and a small $1.4 billion surplus with Singapore (which is widely disputed). The total U.S. trade deficit is rapidly approaching $600 billion.

If our trade accounts were balanced, estimates are an additional 6 million Americans would be employed in manufacturing.

Since 2000, foreign direct investment in the United States plummeted by 90 percent, from $300 billion to $30 billion. Foreign direct investment is also known as "insourcing," which is good. In the last available year, China received $22 billion more foreign direct investment than the United States.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the Chicago metropolitan area lost at least 8,542 jobs due to NAFTA from 1994-2002. U.S. manufacturing employment is down by 2.6 million since 2001, or one in every six jobs. U.S. industrial output has been flat for four years. All of the free-trade promises of mutually assured prosperity have been broken. Now Hale advocates free trade as a new form of foreign-aid nation building.

The Democratic delegation was also criticized for unanimously opposing the Australia free-trade agreement.

Regrettably, the White House and the pharmaceutical industry squandered a perfect opportunity for a unanimous vote on the free-trade agreement with Australia, a respected ally. The pharmaceutical industry heavily influenced a section of the trade agreement that serves as a precedent for prohibiting prescription drug reimportation. In the continuing stunning hypocrisy of free-trade ideologues, all imports are wonderful-as long as they are not cheaper prescription drugs.

I am proud of my voting record on trade policy and economic development in Illinois.