Ben Cardin: “I rise in support of this free trade agreement and urge my colleagues to support it. This is a bilateral free trade…”

“I rise in support of this free trade agreement and urge my colleagues to support it. This is a bilateral free trade agreement between the United States and Australia. I think that we stand to make more progress when we work on bilateral agreements rather than multinational agreements, particularly when we are dealing with a country that is very similar to the United States. The United States and Australia have much in common. Both nations respect basic labor rights and the enforcement of basic workers' rights. This agreement strengthens the enforcement of those laws. Both nations respect the environment, and the agreement calls for both parties to commit to establish high levels of environmental protection and not to weaken or reduce environmental laws to attract trade or investment. Australia is a close ally of the United States in many of our international activities. The United States enjoys a trade surplus with Australia of $9 billion per year. It is our ninth largest export market. Mr. Speaker, Australia is a good friend, and it is in our interest to establish a free trade agreement with Australia. It will open up more markets to U.S. manufacturers and farmers.”