Glenn English: “the headlines are very grim today. We are facing in America a record trade deficit, one that threatens to cut the…”

“the headlines are very grim today. We are facing in America a record trade deficit, one that threatens to cut the economic growth rate of this country. This is in the context of an international economic malaise in which unfair trade practices and naked mercantilism have proliferated on the part of our trading partners. What America needs, Mr. Speaker, is not only a stronger trade policy but stronger legal protections put in place to guarantee a level playing field in this challenging international environment. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce, on behalf of myself and six bipartisan cosponsors, the Fair Trade Law Enhancement Act of 1999. This bill takes a broad approach to trade law reform and includes important necessary changes to the antidumping and countervailing duty laws. These reforms are essential if we are going to keep the trade laws effective and relevant to current conditions in a newly turbulent global economy. America's trade laws have long been critically important to U.S. jobs in both the manufacturing and agricultural sectors. These laws form the last line of defense for U.S. industries, which must operate on market-based principles even though their foreign competitors frequently do not, against injury caused by unfairly traded imports.”