Political Quotes

“I thank the esteemed chairman for the time. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the U.S.-Panama free trade agreement. In my home district of Miami-Dade, Panama is among its top 25 trading partners. In Florida as a whole, it ranks number one among all of the States in exports to that country--incredible numbers. And these figures, Madam Speaker, will only increase once the FTA has been approved and American businesses no longer face heavy tariffs and other artificial barriers to trade. But in addition to the potential economic growth stemming from this agreement, Panama is a key strategic ally in the region. Ever since the Panama Canal was completed a century ago, Panama's importance to the U.S. has only increased as a major transportation route, with two- thirds of its traffic consisting of shipments between our west and east coast. For these reasons--expanded exports, increased jobs, closer ties with a strategic ally--I hope that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will pass this free trade agreement. Madam Speaker, we have been waiting for this agreement for far too long, years of lost opportunities. But now we have a chance to repair that damage. In the past year alone, Panama's economy grew 6.2 percent, making it one of the fastest growing in Latin America and an expanding opportunity for American businesses. Currently, U.S. industrial exports face an average tariff of 7 percent, but some tariffs go as high as over 80 percent.…”