Byron Dorgan: “the Senate will be asked to approve two free-trade agreements with respect to Singapore and Chile. I expect the Senate…”

“the Senate will be asked to approve two free-trade agreements with respect to Singapore and Chile. I expect the Senate will approve both trade agreements by very wide margins. I intend to oppose both and wanted to explain why. It is not the case that I believe a free-trade agreement with Singapore is inappropriate. It is not the case that I believe a free-trade agreement with Chile is inappropriate. It is the case, however, that this country has a trade regime that is in total chaos and it is a significant mess. For 20 years, under Republican and Democratic administrations, we have seen our trade deficit ratchet way up. We now have the largest trade deficit in human history that has occurred anywhere on the globe. It has been rising very rapidly. Instead of fixing the problems that exist in international trade and demanding fair trade and demanding from our allies fair trade treatment and doing something to prevent the erosion of American jobs which, incidentally, are now moving overseas at a rapid pace, we have trade negotiators rushing across the world trying to do new agreements. I say fix the old agreements before we start running around doing new agreements. The reason we are going to consider new agreements today under something called fast track is that Congress decided to handcuff itself and agree to a procedure by which no amendments will be able to be offered to either free-trade agreement.”