For Immediate Release

December 6, 2001

Statement of Rep. Norm Dicks Regarding
HR 3005 Trade Promotion Authority Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – I rise in strong support of H.R. 3005, legislation that will grant to the President Fast Track negotiating authority for certain trade agreements.  I am convinced, Mr. Speaker, that this authority is necessary to ensure that the United States remains a global leader on free trade, and to enable this President and future Presidents to continue to work to open foreign markets to American goods.

Clearly in today’s global economy, our nation has a major interest in reducing barriers to international trade, with more and more American jobs dependent upon our ability to market our goods and services to overseas customers.  And certainly in my State of Washington, which is the most trade-dependent in the nation, our ability to trade freely with foreign nations sustains an enormous portion of our economy.  In Washington, we exported more than 33 billion dollars in goods each year, estimated to sustain more than one million jobs.  The Puget Sound area of our state was recently described as the most export-dependent U.S. metropolitan area.  So this is an issue that relates very much to the creation of new jobs in our region, and certainly it plays a major role in the national economy as well, helping to improve our balance of trade and provide jobs for American workers in the 21st century.

And these are good jobs.  These are not low wage service jobs that have been generated from the growth of international trade in my state.  They are family-wage jobs that pay substantially greater than the national average.  We are talking about thousands of union Machinists making airplanes at The Boeing Company … about software developers at Microsoft … mill workers who fabricate aluminum at Kaiser, chipmakers at Intel, and workers at Weyerhaeuser who produce lumber and wood products.

Trade is not just important to large businesses and big corporations.  In my state, there are many more small businesses than big ones that owe their income to international trade.  There are many small companies that supply machine and airplane parts that go into the aircraft that we sell overseas, thousands of farmers that grow apples and wheat, and countless small, family-owned mills that process timber and sell the products in Asian and other overseas markets.  And there are jobs that are sustained by these exporters: bankers, teachers, restaurant workers, plumbers, lawyers and countless others.

The economic recession has had a severe impact on the State of Washington.   The end of the high technology boom and the effect that the attacks on September 11th  have had on the aircraft industry has been devastating.  Currently, we are suffering the highest unemployment rate in the nation -- 6.6 percent.

My highest priority as a Member of Congress has always been jobs.  Increasing our trade and exports with other countries means jobs for Americans and jobs for people in Washington State.  In my judgment, the fastest way out of this recession is to tear down the barriers other nations have put up against American goods and services, enabling our manufacturers and other businesses to access new markets.  I believe in the ability of our workers and businesses to compete against anybody and win.

Some of my colleagues claim that Trade Promotion Authority is not needed; that the President can already conduct trade negotiations without expedited authority granted by Congress.  This is true – the President can negotiate an agreement with other nations.  However, what we have found since fast track authority lapsed in 1994 is that other nations are unwilling to negotiate with us knowing that any agreement reached with the Administration would likely be changed by Congress without consultation or consideration of the views of the other party to the agreement.   This is why President Clinton strongly urged Congress to extend fast track authority several years ago.

We are falling behind.  Of the more than 130 free trade agreements in the world today, the United States is a party to only three.  The European Union, by contrast, is a party to more than 27.  Because they cannot negotiate a fair deal with the United States, other countries are choosing to buy European-made manufactured goods and agricultural commodities, putting our factory workers and farmers at a distinct disadvantage.

I urge my colleagues to consider very seriously how a vote against this bill will affect our nation’s ability to compete in the global marketplace.  I also ask that you think about how important this bill is to enable our economic recovery.  For both of these reasons, I encourage my colleagues to join me in support of H.R. 3005.

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