United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act--Continued

Floor Speech

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Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the three pending agreements that the Senate will be considering later today.

But before I address these agreements, I first want to express my strong support for the reauthorization of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program.

Three weeks ago I joined a bipartisan group of colleagues in passing an expansion of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program to support workers in Minnesota and across this Nation who have lost their jobs or seen their hours reduced as a result of global exchange.

I made clear then that I believed it was essential that we act on trade adjustment assistance before turning to the pending agreements and--with the House passing this legislation today--that is exactly what we have done.

As chair of the Senate subcommittee on export promotion, I have long been a proponent of increasing U.S. exports and helping U.S. producers reach new markets overseas.

Ninety-five percent of the world's customers live outside our borders. So it is without exaggeration that I say our future prosperity hinges on our ability to reach those customers.

As we continue to work to move our country out of this current economic downturn, we must take every available step we can to increase the competitive edge of American producers, farmers, and workers in the global economy.

I will therefore be voting for both the South Korea and Panama agreements. While these agreements are not perfect, after hearing from Minnesota farmers and businesses, I believe they can help open new overseas markets for Minnesota producers and increase U.S. exports.

The South Korea agreement is projected to increase U.S. exports to South Korea by an estimated $10 billion and increase U.S. GDP by $11 billion.

The agreement will have key benefits for my home State of Minnesota. Of Minnesota's top 10 exports to South Korea--such as machinery and electronics, medical equipment, and animal feed and meats--9 are expected to gain under the agreement.

Many of those gains are expected to be in our State's agriculture industry, where South Korea is the fifth largest trading partner for Minnesota farmers. This agreement will reduce tariffs on dairy, corn, soybeans, pork, and other food products, allowing our Minnesota producers increased access to Korean markets.

The Korea agreement will also eliminate tariffs on processed food, helping to increase exports and promote job growth for Minnesota's processed food producers like General Mills, Schwan's, and Hormel.

The Korea agreement will also benefit the workers in our state's strong medical device industry. South Korea is currently the fifth largest market for U.S. medical equipment exports.

Under the pending agreement, South Korea will immediately eliminate tariffs on 43 percent of medical equipment exports and eliminate tariffs on 90 Percent of the remaining medical equipment products in 3 years.

Finally, I support the Korea agreement because it includes unprecedented provisions to defend intellectual property rights, promote transparency in Korea's trading and regulatory systems, and ensure full and equitable protection and security for American investors in Korea.

Unfortunately, too many foreign nations engage in illegal trade practices, and too often they get away with it.

I have long said that in order to ensure a level playing field for U.S. businesses and workers in an increasingly competitive global environment, we need enforceable standards in our agreements and we need to hold other nations accountable to those standards.

Over the years, I have consistently fought to expose these illegal behaviors and worked hard to support several Minnesota industries such as our coated paper producers, steel producers, honey producers, and alternative energy producers. And just this week the Senate came together on a bipartisan basis to crack down on China's currency manipulation that is undermining our businesses and workers.

As we move forward, I will continue to do everything I can to ensure that the standards included in the Korea agreement--and all other agreements--are strongly and fairly enforced.

I would also like to briefly discuss the Panama Free Trade Agreement.

Like the Korea agreement, I believe the Panama agreement will promote U.S. exports and strengthen market access for Minnesotan and U.S. companies.

The United States already runs a trade surplus with Panama. Through the immediate elimination of tariffs on 88 percent of U.S. exports to Panama, and the elimination of remaining tariffs within 10 years, that surplus will only increase.

The Panama agreement presents new opportunities for Minnesota manufacturers and their workers and, like the Korea agreement, also promotes greater transparency and enforcement in Panama.

Finally I will oppose the Colombia agreement which does not do enough to address the country's endemic corruption and violence directed toward labor.

Increasing U.S. exports will bring many opportunities to our businesses and workers, and implementation of the Korea and Panama Free Trade Agreements, as well as the Trade Adjustment Assistant Program, will help our Nation stay competitive in the global economy.

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