George Voinovich: “for the past few days now, we have been here on the floor of the Senate debating a very basic question: do we trust our…”

“for the past few days now, we have been here on the floor of the Senate debating a very basic question: do we trust our trading partners? As I see it, this debate is not about truck safety, but, rather, it is about whether or not the United States is willing to honor its trade agreements and adhere to the principals of NAFTA. Over the past several years, as my colleagues are aware, the United States has enjoyed one of its longest periods of economic prosperity in our history. Vital to this remarkable economic boom has been international trade. Trade is the economic lifeblood of the United States. Some twelve million American jobs depend directly on exports, and countless millions more, indirectly. In fact, the growth in American exports over the last ten years has been responsible for about one-third of our total economic growth. That means jobs for Americans and of particular concern to this Senator, jobs for Ohioans. The United States is the world's single largest exporter of goods and services, accounting for 12 percent of the world's total goods exports and 16 percent of the world's total service exports. Goods and services exports from the State of Ohio constitute a significant share of exports coming from the United States, making the Buckeye State the 8th largest exporter in the nation. Ohio is a textbook example of why international trade is good for America.”