Chuck Grassley: “I speak in favor of the United States-Jordan Free Trade Agreement. I urge my colleagues to support it. But before we…”

“I speak in favor of the United States-Jordan Free Trade Agreement. I urge my colleagues to support it. But before we move forward, I would like to put this agreement in context--not a context different than other speakers have but to emphasize some things that have already been said. First of all, this agreement is very important between two countries that have been friends for a long time and that want to maintain that friendship. It has been almost a year since President Clinton and King Abdulla signed the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement. By all accounts the agreement should have passed Congress with little controversy. The Kingdom of Jordan and King Abdullah are good friends of the United States. The agreement itself is a good agreement. It opens up new markets for U.S. exports to Jordan. And it enhances Jordan's access to our markets.”