Doug Bereuter: “this Member speaks today in favor of H.R. 3161, which would extend permanent MFN, or normal trade status, to Romania. In…”

“this Member speaks today in favor of H.R. 3161, which would extend permanent MFN, or normal trade status, to Romania. In order to save time, I certainly associate myself with the rationale offered by the gentlemen from California, New Mexico, and New York. I have been a skeptic and a critic of Romania for quite some time since I first visited in 1984 to see what Ceausescu was doing. No apologist, always a severe critic. In fact I voted against MFN in the past. When I went to Romania again last year, I was the critic asking tough questions to our ambassador to Romania. The reasons for doing so are compelling. First and foremost, Romania has made substantial and important progress on a variety of fronts since the fall of communism in 1989. This Member had the pleasure of personally observing this transformation in progress when this Member traveled to the country 2 years ago. Today the Romanian Government has made important efforts to resist extremism by expelling political players with radical views from its ruling coalition. Romania now boasts an extensive free press, with more than 1,000 newspapers and periodicals and several hundred television and radio stations, many of which routinely criticize the Government without fear of persecution. Romania's economic progress has been propelled by its considerable privatization efforts. Nearly 50 percent of the country's GDP now comes from the private sector, which employs about half of the country's workforce.”