Max Baucus: “I oppose that amendment, and I urge my colleagues to do so, for a very simple reason. That is, if that amendment were…”

“I oppose that amendment, and I urge my colleagues to do so, for a very simple reason. That is, if that amendment were agreed to and were to become part of the normal trading relations status with China, we automatically as Americans would be shooting ourselves in the foot, to say the least. Why do I say that? As the world becomes more complicated, more complex, we hear about globalism, trade agreements, taxation or nontaxation of products over the Internet, and whatnot. Unfortunately, we have to rise to a higher level of more sophistication and learning and know what is going on with these arrangements and agreements so that we Americans are in a better economic condition. It is difficult, but we have no choice with all the economic pressures that are advancing our world so quickly. The provisions of the World Trade Organization, I believe, very much help raise our economic standards. They are not perfect, but perfection cannot be the enemy of the good. If there were no WTO, it would be an economic free-for-all. Various countries would be doing their own deals at the expense of others, and it would be chaos. It would be a mess. At least the World Trade Organization is a vehicle, a forum, a mechanism, a way to get some civility, some process into trade matters and trade disputes that occur in this world. One of the basic principles of the World Trade Organization is nondiscrimination and unconditionality. It is written in article 1 of the WTO.”