United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act

UNITED STATES-MOROCCO FREE TRADE AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTATION ACT -- (House of Representatives - July 22, 2004)

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 738, I call up the bill (H.R. 4842) to implement the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement, and ask for its immediate consideration.

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Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin). He does a terrific job with the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Crane) on a bipartisan basis to ensure that every opinion is heard on the Subcommittee on Trade over at the Committee on Ways and Means. I think oftentimes that is why we have the final product that we do.

Let me use this opportunity, Mr. Speaker, to explain why I will be voting in favor of this bilateral free trade agreement between the United States and Morocco, even though there are several aspects of the agreement that trouble me.

My chief disappointment with the agreement is that, once again, the administration refused to specifically require our trading partner to abide by the five most basic internationally recognized labor standards.

The International Labor Organization has identified those principles as the right to associate and bargain collectively, and prohibitions on forced labor, discrimination and child labor.

Instead of assuring these minimal protections for foreign workers, our recent trade agreements have imposed a different standard. They require our partners to enforce whatever labor laws exist in that particular country, regardless of how lax those laws might be.

While I strongly believe that this is the wrong negotiating tack as a general matter, in the specific case of Morocco, the country's labor laws more than surpass international minimum standards; and by all accounts, it appears that the government is making a genuine and conscientious effort to work with unions, workers, and employers to bolster its worker protections even further, including the right to strike. The labor provisions of this agreement are not perfect, but they represent a workable starting point.

Although this agreement is not what I would ideally like to see, it represents an important first step. Fundamentally, I believe that the U.S. can improve its international standing and its national security by expanding trade and strengthening its relationships with moderate Muslim countries. Unfortunately, more and more Muslim voices are calling for boycotts of the United States and its products. That makes it all the more critical for us to reach out to those who are eager to form a partnership with us.

Over the long term, I believe that agreements with nations such as Morocco are mutually beneficial from an economic standpoint. They also represent an opportunity to help mend international relations that have endured a great deal of strain over the last several years.

Mr. Speaker, this agreement could be better. Certainly I would have negotiated it differently, but it will pave the way for progress in a region that is critically important to the United States, and so it does have my support.