David Perdue: “I rise to talk about my opposition to the section 232 motion which will be voted on later today. I have utmost respect…”

“I rise to talk about my opposition to the section 232 motion which will be voted on later today. I have utmost respect for my colleagues who are bringing this motion. I totally understand their logic, and I respect their point of view on this and many other issues. One of the great things about this deliberative body is that we deliberate. Unfortunately, I just don't understand why this body continues to try to tie the hands of this President at every turn. We all know that enacting tariffs on imports is not the goal here. This President is committed to creating a more level playing field for our workers and our companies here at home that compete on the unlevel playing field which exists in the trade world we know of today. We need to give this President, and every future President, frankly, room to negotiate. The 1962 Trade Expansion Act was passed by Congress to give the executive branch the authority and flexibility to negotiate on trade. It was this authority that paved the way for negotiations on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade--GATT--which helped reduce global trade barriers. Most of my career, I have dealt within the GATT restrictions and opportunities we have to trade across borders internationally. I think, more than anybody else in this body, I have actually transacted products across borders internationally.…”