Jack Reed: “my amendment would, within the context of fast track, direct the President to undertake as a principal negotiating…”

“my amendment would, within the context of fast track, direct the President to undertake as a principal negotiating objective to promote the adherence of internationally recognized environmental standards. Essentially, what we have to do to improve the legislation before the Senate is to recognize that environmental quality is an important issue. It is an important issue for us, all of us who breathe the air, swim the waters, eat the bounty of our land, but it is also a very important issue in terms of economic competition because in many respects what we are seeing in countries that are trading with us is a conscious and at times very committed and deliberate attempt to use environmental quality and the lack of environmental quality to gain advantage over American workers. The underlying legislation circumscribes the ability of the President to deal effectively and forcefully with the issues in environmental quality within our potential trading partners. That, I think, is essential. Indeed, the experience of NAFTA should convince us very persuasively that we have to deal with the environment in order to set up a reasonable, fair, balanced trading regime between one country and another. The experience of NAFTA has shown us that there are trading partners who are using the environment, environmental laws, preferential environmental treatment of their companies, to attract and to lure American businesses to their country.”