Political Quotes

“I rise to raise some concerns about the upcoming GATT treaty that will be considered by this body soon. As I understand it, the Senate will be voting on legislation to implement the new GATT agreement. I have some real problems with the GATT agreement. Let me say, first of all, that I am a free trader. I believe that trade is one of the best ways to get along with other countries and to promote prosperity. But I also believe in equal treatment. If other countries' products come into our country, our products should be able to go into theirs on an equal basis. When I say I am a free trader, a lot of people in the world hear that we are going to open up our markets, but their markets remain closed. Mr. President, as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and the Commerce Committee, and prior to that as a soldier in the Army, and as a student, I have visited over 140 countries in my lifetime. I always find that these other countries want to send their products into the United States. They say: 'We are just a little country. We put tariffs on your products. We are so little it really does not matter.' But it does in a cumulative way. The American taxpayer is actually paying, and the American consumer is subsidizing these other countries in trade. That has been particularly true with Japan over the last 10 years, but it is also true with a number of other countries as well. Now we have the GATT treaty which has been signed by the United States.”