OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Withdrawing Approval of the United States from Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization

Date: June 9, 2005
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Trade


WITHDRAWING APPROVAL OF THE UNITED STATES FROM AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION -- (House of Representatives - June 09, 2005)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to reject any attempts to withdraw the United States from the WTO and vote no on final passage.

When instituted correctly and fairly, trade agreements open up foreign markets to U.S. goods, create new opportunities for companies and their employees, and lift the standard of living for people in the country with whom we are trading. Economists estimate that cutting trade barriers in agriculture, manufacturing and services by one-third would boost the world economy by $613 billion, equivalent to adding an economy the size of Canada to the world economy. The WTO is needed to monitor this process and ensure a level playing field.

However, in certain cases, there is not a level playing field. A great example of this is Airbus. Airbus is currently the wo rld's leading manufacturer of civil aircraft, with about 50 percent of global market share. Airbus received approximately $30 billion in market-distorting subsidies from the European governments, including launch aid, infrastructure support, debt forgiveness, equity infusions, and research and development funding.

These subsidies, in particular launch aid, have lowered Airbus' development costs and shifted the risk of aircraft development to European governments, and thereby enabled Airbus to develop ai rcraft at an accelerated pace and sell these aircraft at prices and on terms that would otherwise be unsustainable. These unfair actions put Boeing at a major disadvantage and leads to a negative impact to workers and businesses in this country. By most conservative estimates, the unfair subsidies that Airbus receives have led the United States to losing at least 60,000 high-paying jobs.

As a member of the House Committee on International Relations and the fact that John F. Kennedy International Airport is the economic engine of my district, it is imperative that this body support USTR Ambassador Robert Portman's efforts to have a WTO dispute resolution panel put an end to the unfair subsidies to Airbus.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

http://thomas.loc.gov

arrow_upward