Sherrod Brown: “our trade policy is fundamentally flawed. Years of wrongheaded trade pacts have sent millions of jobs overseas…”

“our trade policy is fundamentally flawed. Years of wrongheaded trade pacts have sent millions of jobs overseas, devastated our communities, and opened our Nation too often to serious homeland security concerns. When we open our borders to trade, as we should, we open them to national security threats. Congress must assure the American people we have done everything within our power to protect their safety and their health and their welfare and to promote fair trade. It is estimated that less than 10 percent of foreign cargo is inspected before entering our country. We must both ensure that our ports are operated securely and with clear lines of accountability, unlike the deal to transfer operation of six U.S. ports to a state-owned company controlled by the United Arab Emirates that this administration approved just last year. The decision to allow a UAE-controlled company to run our ports had significant national security implications. The UAE was, and still may be, a financial and travel outlet for known terrorists. It was not until leaders in both parties in the Senate and in the House of Representatives called attention to this enormous blunder that this deal was stopped. It is imperative Congress take steps to ensure our homeland security needs are secured every bit as much as our economic well-being.”