Max Baucus: “Yesterday, I led a group of 11 Senators in urging President Bush to ensure that there will be full funding for the…”

“Yesterday, I led a group of 11 Senators in urging President Bush to ensure that there will be full funding for the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration efforts to make sure that our Nation's trade agreements are fully implemented and followed by our trading partners. In the days leading up to the President's budget proposal, we were seriously concerned by reports that there would be deep cuts in this program. Although it appears that the fiscal 2002 budget does not include cuts, we continue to be concerned that anyone would even consider such a damaging move. This Nation has had a serious problem over the past two decades with many of our most important trading partners who have not complied with commitments made in trade agreements. The Japanese record, for example, of compliance with trade agreements is poor. We have brought disputes against the European Union at the WTO, and won those cases, yet the EU still does not comply with its obligations. China has presented major problems in implementing agreements on intellectual property rights protection and on market access, and China's entry into the WTO will bring new and even more difficult challenges to our efforts to ensure compliance. It is critical that our Government agencies have the resources they need to monitor compliance, and then to take the actions necessary to enforce the commitments made by other nations.”