United States-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (H.R. 4340)
UNITED STATES-BAHRAIN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTATION ACT (H.R. 4340) -- (Extensions of Remarks - December 22, 2005)
SPEECH OF
HON. BETTY McCOLLUM
OF MINNESOTA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2005
Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the United States-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (H.R. 4340).
The Kingdom of Bahrain has been an American ally in the Persian Gulf for decades, and I support expanding opportunities for trade between our nations. Trade is a valuable tool to strengthen America's global partnerships and advance a higher quality of life at home and abroad. The U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement, however, does not pursue trade that is free and fair. Rather, it expands a system of globalization that benefits large multinational corporations at the expense of working people and their families.
Under this free trade agreement, Bahrain is only required to comply with its domestic labor laws, which do not need to be consistent with international recognized labor rights. As a result, workers can be denied their right to organize and bargain collectively and have no guarantee of freedom from child labor, forced labor, and discrimination. In turn, the playing field for U.S. workers and goods produced in the U.S. must be lowered to compete with the current standards of our trading partner.
This Congress knows better. Just four years ago, this House passed a free trade agreement with another country in the Middle East, Jordan, by voice vote. The U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement affirmed the rights of workers and explicitly stated that it was ``inappropriate to encourage trade by relaxing domestic labor laws.'' It is extremely disappointing that the agreement before us today could not live up to this standard and do more to protect the rights of workers.
The U.S.-Bahrain free trade agreement also fails on environmental protection. Under this agreement, the labor and environmental dispute process is inferior to that provided for commercial provisions. Monetary fines for environmental and labor violations are capped at $15 million. This amount is lower than that for commercial violations and likely too low to deter the most severe violations.
This free trade agreement also undermines the quality of life of working families in other ways. It extends patent protection for pharmaceutical companies, extending the time before generic drugs may enter the market. This denies working families affordable access to the prescription drugs they need, to the benefit of already successful drug companies.
For these reasons, I oppose this free trade agreement and encourage my colleagues to vote against this legislation.
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