Mike Levin: “I offer an amendment with Senator Voinovich, my fellow co-chair of the Senate Auto Caucus and Senator Stabenow. Our…”

“I offer an amendment with Senator Voinovich, my fellow co-chair of the Senate Auto Caucus and Senator Stabenow. Our amendment would include in one of the listed principal negotiating objectives of the United States to reduce trade barriers in other countries to U.S. motor vehicles and vehicle parts. Increasing access for our products to markets which are closed or partially closed to us surely should be the objective of all of us. Other countries have full access to our market for their autos and auto parts. The fast track provision we are considering makes it a principal negotiating objective to expand trade and reduce barriers for trade in services, foreign investment, intellectual property, electronic commerce, and agriculture, and other sectors. Yet the biggest portion of our trade deficit is in autos. In 2001, our automotive deficit made up over 31 percent of our total trade deficit with the world. In 2001, our automotive deficit was 59 percent of our total trade deficit with Japan and 53 percent of our total deficit with Korea. No omnibus trade bill should leave the Senate without addressing barriers to our products which are the largest contributors to our trade deficit. We can start by making opening foreign markets for U.S. automotive products one of our principal negotiating objectives. America's domestic auto industry is the largest manufacturing industry in the United States.”