Political Quotes

“we will be dealing soon--I guess next week--with trade promotion authority and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, the TPP. Conventional wisdom is that trade agreements are good. We should just move them forward. Let's have an expedited fast-track process--a fast-track agreement with the TPA--and we will get this done and it is going to work out well for the American people. But in truth, I have to say, since I voted for every trade agreement, one virtually every year since I have been here--except one--the data doesn't give us much confidence that a loosely drawn or improperly drawn agreement is going to help us. In fact, evidence indicates it is not helping us. It is not helping the economy of the United States. It is not helping growth. Some of these agreements have clearly exacerbated our trade deficit. So it is a remarkable thing, and we want to believe in trade, and I do, but the United States has interests, our trading partners have interests, and our trading partners are far more mercantile, far more focused on increasing exports to foreign countries--to the biggest market in the world, the United States--and far more focused on blocking imports that would compete against locally manufactured products than the United States has been producing. Some say: Well, that is not a problem. The United States is smarter in the long run. But I would say I am looking at this more carefully now. I voted for the Korea agreement.…”