Byron Dorgan: “Yesterday was Labor Day. I noticed this morning that there was a speech given by the President, which I welcome, in…”

“Yesterday was Labor Day. I noticed this morning that there was a speech given by the President, which I welcome, in which he talked about increased attention to international trade issues, particularly trade deficits and the jobs that are flowing overseas. The story specifically talks about the difficulties we have in the manufacturing jobs that have left. I wanted to make a couple of points about that. I have talked before about the trade deficit. We have the largest trade deficit in human history. It is now over $470 billion. Let me just show a chart that shows this trade deficit, although the red marks on this chart really should read 'jobs.' When your trade deficit goes to $470 billion, that means jobs that used to exist here exist elsewhere--in China, Japan, South Korea, Europe, Mexico, Canada. I want to make a point about this because I am heartened by the fact that the President talked about China. The Administration is talking about currency fluctuations, which is a separate issue. I have spoken about that many times. Having trade agreements with other countries and not having a shock absorber to adjust for currency fluctuations makes no sense at all. It never has.”