congressional_record: CREC-1994-12-20-pt1-PgE15
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| granule_id | date | congress | session | volume | issue | title | chamber | granule_class | sub_granule_class | page_start | page_end | speakers | bills | citation | full_text |
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| CREC-1994-12-20-pt1-PgE15 | 1994-12-20 | 103 | 2 | URUGUAY ROUND AGREEMENTS ACT | HOUSE | EXTENSIONS | FRONTMATTER | E | E | [{"name": "William D. Ford", "role": "speaking"}] | [{"congress": "103", "type": "HR", "number": "5110"}] | 140 Cong. Rec. E | Congressional Record, Volume 140 Issue 150 (Tuesday, December 20, 1994) [Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 150 (Tuesday, December 20, 1994)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov] [Congressional Record: December 20, 1994] From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] URUGUAY ROUND AGREEMENTS ACT ______ speech of HON. WILLIAM D. FORD of michigan in the house of representatives Tuesday, November 29, 1994 The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5110) to approve and implement the trade agreements concluded in the Uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations: Mr. FORD of Michigan. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the implementing legislation for the Uruguay round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The GATT was conceived in the aftermath of World War II, when the American economy was the world's strongest. The label ``Made in America'' guaranteed a quality product, one that was superior to those made in other countries. In that world, it was correct to assume that freer trade virtually always helped Americans. But times have changed. The world has become much more competitive. Multinational companies, both American and foreign, will use any location in the world to produce products if that location promises to reduce the costs of production. The globalization of production puts the jobs of American workers into competition with workers who live in countries which have virtually no labor standards. American workers will inevitably lose the race to the bottom caused by such competition. That is why economists estimate that the American manufacturing sector lost millions of good paying jobs to low-wage foreign countries in the decade of the 1980's. For this reason, this Nation's trade policy must now focus on ensuring that American workers have a level field to play on. This focus was entirely missing in the GATT negotiations and is entirely missing from the agreement and its implementing legislation. I fear that adoption of this legislation will leave the workers of the United States powerless to fight against countries that seek to gain competitive advantage through the use of cheap or unsafe labor conditions. This legislation also makes it very difficult for the United States to fight countries that use other methods to gain competitive advantage. Under the GATT, it would be illegal for a country to enact a domestic content law or to subject foreign goods to import quotas. The threat of these actions saved the domestic auto industry in the 1980's however, because the threat of these actions led the Japanese to adopt ``voluntary'' import restraints. The voluntary restraints gave our industry and its workers the breathing space they needed to become competitive in the world. Now, the industry is hiring for the first time in a generation. Does anybody doubt that unrestricted Japanese competition in this industry in the 1980's would have prevented this recovery? Free trade will impoverish us unless it is fair trade. We should not enter into agreements which strip us of our right to defend the living standards of our workers and our ability to create good American jobs. I believe we can do better. I urge rejection of this legislation. ____________________ |