Saxby Chambliss: “I rise today to speak about one of the greatest job-creation measures this body has considered in a long time. The three…”

“I rise today to speak about one of the greatest job-creation measures this body has considered in a long time. The three long-awaited trade agreements with South Korea, Panama, and Colombia that the Senate will soon receive will create more real, long- term jobs than any stimulus approach advocated by the President. While many of us are concerned about the role of government in job creation--an issue that will continue to be debated by this body--we can all agree that it is imperative to create a fair and efficient platform on which businesses can grow. The trade agreements before us will do just that. Some economists believe that we are doing perpetual harm to our manufacturing, agricultural and export sectors by not passing these agreements. For instance, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has previously calculated that delaying the passage of the Colombia Free Trade Agreement alone may have resulted in the direct loss of more than 20,000 jobs in the United States. Our trading partners have looked elsewhere for goods and services to power their growing economies. When Canada and Colombia completed their trade agreement in August, within 15 days there was an 18-percent increase in wheat exports from Canada to Colombia. The U.S. Trade Representative completed negotiations in 2006 with Colombia for the agreement we will soon have before us. Nearly 5 years of delays on this agreement alone have caused us irreparable damage.…”