DOMINICAN REPUBLIC-CENTRAL AMERICA-UNITED STATES FREE TRADE AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTATION ACT
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Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the Central American Free Trade Agreement--CAFTA. I have been a long-time supporter of expanding United States trading relationships. I believe trade is vital to the long-term health of the U.S. economy and to raising living standards around the globe. Since my days as Governor, I have worked to open markets around the world for Ohio's exports. Exports are extremely important to the Ohio economy. When I was Governor, exports were one of my four economic development priorities.
During my tenure in the Senate I have supported the vast majority of trade agreements that have been brought before the Senate. However, in the last year and a half or so, I have been troubled by several aspects of our trade policies that I believe severely, and understandably, undermine the American people's support, as well as my own support, for new trade agreements.
In particular, I believe the failure of the United States to properly enforce its existing trade agreements has contributed to growing skepticism of the American people about the benefits of trade. In particular, the failure to enforce the intellectual property right protections in our trade agreements has contributed to a proliferation of counterfeiting and pirating of American products across the globe.
I have met with numerous Ohio business leaders whose support for trade has been severely tested when their company's products were counterfeited by firms operating in countries whose governments simply refuse to live up to their commitments to protect intellectual property rights.
I believe in free trade, but the cornerstone of free trade is the protection of property rights. It is unreasonable to expect American companies to compete against companies from countries that do not abide by this basic principle.
Last year I was so troubled by the lack of enforcement of our trade agreements I decided the United States should hold off entering into any new trade agreements until our enforcement efforts dramatically improved. Accordingly, I voted against the Australian and Moroccan Free Trade Agreements. Those were not popular votes, but they were necessary to draw attention to the need to enforce our trade agreements.
Although I have been critical of the way our trade agreements have been enforced, I remain committed to seeing the United States continue its leadership in promoting lower trade barriers and global trade. My criticism is that of a friend of trade and one who wants to see the U.S. trade policy succeed.
Accordingly, I have been very pleased with the administration's new efforts to improve the enforcement of our trade agreements. Earlier this year, I held a hearing by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia, to examine the administration's new Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy or STOP! Program which aimed to combat intellectual property theft abroad and help small and medium size businesses protect their intellectual property. Although much more needs to be done, STOP! is off to a very good start.
I hope my colleagues in the Senate will familiarize themselves with the STOP! program because it will be of great assistance to small businesses in States that have had their intellectual property rights infringed upon.
Mr. VOINOVICH. I am very pleased with the efforts of Secretary of Commerce Thomas Gutierrez and my good friend Ambassador Rob Portman at USTR to help several Ohio companies, victims of intellectual property theft abroad. They have shown the importance of enforcing our trade agreements and are committed to improving our enforcement record, especially in the area of property rights. I am very impressed by how much progress they have made during their short tenures in raising the issue of intellectual property rights abroad, and I am confident they will continue to work closely with Congress to address trade issues.
Our trade policies are only as good as the people who execute them. I am pleased to say we have excellent leadership right now in Secretary Gutierrez and Ambassador Portman. They both have a good background on trade. Secretary Gutierrez has firsthand experience with trade issues due to his work as CEO of Kellogg. Ambassador Portman has unique knowledge of trade legislation as a result of his work as a member of the Ways and Means Committee while he was a Member of Congress.
Recently, I sent a letter to the President asking him to appoint a coordinator for all of the agencies that deal with commerce--Commerce, the Patent Office, USTR, Homeland Security, Customs, Border Patrol, and the Justice Department. They need someone to coordinate them so they get the job done.
I was also pleased to hear Treasury Secretary Snow's comments earlier this week that he is prepared to cite China if it does not address the yuan's overvalued exchange rate against the dollar.
In light of the administration's new effort to improve enforcement of our trade agreements and in consideration of the merits of the agreement, I have decided to support the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement. Passage of CAFTA will lay the foundation for a growing and valuable trade relationship with CAFTA countries as well as strengthen the U.S. leadership position in promoting global trade.
I believe CAFTA embodies precisely the type of long-term economic planning that we too often fail to integrate into our policies. CAFTA will not only facilitate the expansion of trade between the United States and other CAFTA countries by eliminating most trade barriers but will also help American companies get on the ground floor in those developing countries, ahead of our competitors in Europe and in China.
Right now, the CAFTA countries have relatively small economies, but they have made great progress over the last decade. Over the past 5 years alone, U.S. exports to Central America have increased by 35 percent. As these countries continue to grow, we will see growing demands for our exports. Presently, about 44 percent of the region's imports come from the United States, so as their economies expand, so will purchases of American products.
Moreover, the United States has already accorded duty-free treatment to more than 80 percent of Central American imports to the United States under the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act and other trade agreements. As a result, CAFTA is largely a one-way lowering of trade barriers by the CAFTA countries and will measurably improve our opportunity to export to those countries.
Presently, the CAFTA countries impose high tariffs on agricultural products, especially on several of Ohio's top agricultural exports such as soybeans, corn, dairy products, beef, and pork. Under CAFTA, these tariffs will be eliminated, making Ohio's agricultural exports much more competitive in the CAFTA country. Since most agricultural products from CAFTA countries already enter the United States duty free, CAFTA levels the playing field and gives American farmers the same access to the markets in the CAFTA countries. For Ohio farmers, CAFTA is a good deal. Not surprisingly, CAFTA has received support from the Farm Bureau, the Ohio Cattlemen Association, Soybean Association, Poultry Association, and, of course, the Ohio Corn Growers Association.
CAFTA is also very important to the survival of the U.S. apparel industry. Only with open access to CAFTA can American apparel compete with China. Unless CAFTA is passed, we will see the entire American apparel industry move to China.
CAFTA also improves the protection of intellectual property in the CAFTA countries. Under CAFTA's intellectual property provisions, they are obligated to ratify numerous international agreements on intellectual property rights to which the United States is already a signatory and will be obligated to enforce intellectual property rights. The ratification of these agreements is a very important step to protecting American companies from intellectual property theft abroad. While some may argue that more needs to be done, the fact is, if CAFTA does not pass, American companies will not have the protection of even those basic agreements.
We often forget that trade agreements are about more than just trade. They are key components of American foreign policy. They are one of the best ways this country can develop better relationships around the globe. At a time when I believe the United States badly needs to improve its relationship with other countries, trade agreements offer us an excellent opportunity to reach out to the other countries and foster economic ties.
The CAFTA countries are exactly the types of countries with which we should build better relationships. After decades of civil wars, the CAFTA countries have made dramatic progress toward establishing democracy and market-based economies. Because the United States is their largest trading partner and foreign investor, the CAFTA countries need a good trade relationship with the United States to fuel their development and help them to continue their reforms. By passing CAFTA, we can help ensure that our southern neighbors succeed in their reforms and in the process greatly expand our influence in the region. I note that President Jimmy Carter supports CAFTA for precisely this reason.
It is in the best strategic interest of the United States to see that CAFTA countries become successful republics and do not once again fall victim to economic crises and civil wars. The existence of stable and prosperous countries in our southern border will not only be good for American commerce but also good for American security.
Approval of CAFTA will also send an important signal to the countries in the region as well as other developing countries that the United States is committed to assisting them in building their economies. If the United States does not develop closer relationships with these countries, they will undoubtedly look elsewhere for help, such as the European Union or, more troubling, to Cuba, Venezuela, or China. Rejection of CAFTA will only clear the way for our competitors to enter our backyard. In my opinion, a defeat of CAFTA is a victory for China and Cuba.
In addition to rejecting CAFTA, it would greatly damage Ambassador Portman's ability to open markets for U.S. exports at the Doha round of WTO negotiations and with respect to the planned trade agreement with the Andean nations and for the free trade area of the Americas. The U.S. trading partners would have a reduced incentive to agree to open their markets to U.S. goods because they would claim, sincerely or tactically, that the U.S. commerce will not be willing to approve a final agreement. To get other countries to agree to politically unpopular reductions in trade barriers, the United States needs to have credibility that it will do the same.
Since the end of World War II, the United States has been the driving force in promoting trade liberalization. Because of U.S. leadership, global trade barriers have steadily fallen for nearly 60 years, greatly expanding world trade and helping to improve living standards around the world.
I believe it would be unfair to Ambassador Portman to reject CAFTA and undermine his ability to continue the U.S. leadership on trade, especially given that he only recently assumed his post. Members who have worked with Ambassador Portman know he is very talented and a skilled legislator and negotiator who understands the importance of close consultations with Congress during the negotiation of any trade agreement. Hence, I think we have a great opportunity to improve Congress's involvement in the negotiation of trade agreements which would build support for future trade agreements by having Congress's concerns addressed early in the process. Too often, it comes in too late.
We have somebody there as our new U.S. Trade Representative--and I have spoken to him about it--who understands because of his legislative experience that he needs to get over here and spend some time with Congress before the final touch is put on those trade agreements. By voting down CAFTA, however, we would undermine Ambassador Portman's ability to respond to our concerns in the future and negotiate better agreements.
CAFTA is a good agreement which will further integrate the United States in the world economy and help ensure the United States remains the world's leader in global trading.
I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this agreement.
I yield the floor.
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