Max Baucus: “Last year, nearly two-thirds of the Senate sent a letter to President Bush emphasizing that new trade agreements must…”

“Last year, nearly two-thirds of the Senate sent a letter to President Bush emphasizing that new trade agreements must not weaken trade remedy laws such as antidumping and countervailing duty law. The fast track bill we are considering today reemphasizes that point. Section 2(c)(9) of the bill instructs the President to preserve, in all trade negotiations, the ability of the United States to enforce rigorously its trade remedy laws and to avoid any agreement that would require weakening of the current U.S. antidumping, countervailing duty and safeguard remedies. Today, I would like to make two key points about this provision. First, the Committee on Finance regards strict adherence to the section 2(c)(9) directive as critical in advancing the economic interests of the United States in future trade agreements. The bill's language here is unambiguous in the sense that, rather than establishing preservation of our trade remedy laws as simply a 'negotiating objective,' it bluntly states that the President 'shall' preserve those laws. Second, the negotiating instruction encompasses any weakening of the existing remedies, whether at the level of statute, regulation or agency practice.”