Bob Menendez: “I believe in free trade. But to me, free trade is not just about the products we are trading. It is also about the…”

“I believe in free trade. But to me, free trade is not just about the products we are trading. It is also about the people who make them. If after more than a quarter century of engagement, the success of our human rights and democracy efforts in China can be measured in forced abortions, arrest of dissidents, Tiananmen Square, religious persecution, ethnic cleansing in Tibet, child labor, slave labor, aggression against Taiwan, and the arrests of the Falun Gong, then our record is not a success at all but a dismal failure. The victims of this failure are not just the Chinese people. The administration and American companies continue to accept displaced American workers as inevitable casualties of economic war for which there is virtually no assistance. I know I will not. Our trade deficit with China continues to grow, from a $6 billion deficit a decade ago to an almost $70 billion deficit today, all while the Chinese Government continues to break promise after promise, agreement after agreement. That $70 billion benefit to China is what they have, in essence, been investing in their military budget. Free trade exists when two countries open up their doors to compete on a level playing field, not when one country, the United States, opens its doors wide while the other, China, cracks its door open an inch while reserving the right to slam it shut if we ever dare ask for what they consider to be too much.”