Robert Torricelli: “this Congress is engaged in a great debate about giving the President of the United States virtually unrestricted…”

“this Congress is engaged in a great debate about giving the President of the United States virtually unrestricted authority to engage and negotiate with other nations in what has been termed fast-track authority. Capital markets and international political leaders are waiting to see whether or not this Congress will grant that authority to the President of the United States. To some, the debate has already been defined as either one of believing in free trade or returning to protectionism. I believe that that is a disservice to this Congress and indeed to the debate itself because the issue is extraordinarily more complex. The United States needs no lectures about the advantages or the pursuit of free trade nor, indeed, does this Congress. In Bretton Woods, the Kennedy Round, the Uruguay Round, the United States has both led and constructed the current system both in monetary and trade relations. This country understands that free, unfettered trade, the opening of international markets, is the very foundation of both our own and international prosperity.”