Kevin Brady: “I want to thank Dr. Brad Wenstrup for yielding time to me, and I want to congratulate him and Ms. Sewell for their…”

“I want to thank Dr. Brad Wenstrup for yielding time to me, and I want to congratulate him and Ms. Sewell for their strong, bipartisan leadership on this important bill. I rise today in support of this legislation. The Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership creates jobs, promotes American values abroad, and incentivizes beneficiary countries to comply with the economic rule of law, bolstering their development. The CBTPA helps these nations grow and create opportunities for their workers, farmers, and innovators. And in return, it creates a strong market for us to sell our U.S.-produced yarn and fabrics to apparel manufacturers in the Caribbean. The program strengthens our hemispheric manufacturing integration and allows us to compete against China, whose manufacturers certainly don't care about using U.S. inputs. As a result, we can sell our goods to more customers, keep prices here lower, and promote the spirit of free enterprise. The Caribbean countries are our neighbors, and we should work together to improve our region's competitiveness. But we should be here today voting on two trade extensions: the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership and the Generalized System of Preferences. Both of these programs have bipartisan support. Both of them are set to expire this year. And if we extend both of them today, our manufacturers, producers, and consumers would have more certainty right now.…”