John Spratt: “this conference report does far more than just give the President fast track authority. Packed into these 400 pages is…”

“this conference report does far more than just give the President fast track authority. Packed into these 400 pages is something called the Andean Trade Promotion Act, and if you come from textile country, this is no trivial matter. These provisions open up duty-free access for Andean textile imports that is four times current trade. Also packed into this conference report are major amendments to the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act. These almost triple the amount of apparel that can come in duty-free from the 26 countries in the Caribbean and Central America. As if that were not enough, this conference report goes on to expand the African Growth and Opportunity Act, doubling the amount of apparel that can come in duty-free, unencumbered from 35 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Over the last several years, believe me, I come from textile country, hundreds of plants have closed and textile apparel workers by the thousands have lost their jobs. By opening our markets in this report to a flood tide of new imports from the Andes, from Africa and from the Caribbean, from 70 countries in all, this bill can only add to an industry that is already hemorrhaging from a trade deficit that is running right now at $62 billion.”