Jim Sensenbrenner: “Mr. Speaker, both the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreements contain several important provisions within…”

“Mr. Speaker, both the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreements contain several important provisions within the purview of the Committee on the Judiciary. Both agreements contain competition clauses that ensure antitrust laws are applied in a neutral, transparent and nondiscriminatory manner while safeguarding basic procedural rights. The agreements also contain robust intellectual property protections, requiring the governments of Chile and Singapore to take affirmative steps to eradicate the piracy of trademarks, patents, satellite television rights and other forms of intellectual property. These intellectual property provisions are widely supported and are likely to serve as a model for future free trade agreements. The intellectual property and antitrust provisions required no substantive changes to U.S. law and thus are not within the text of the implementing legislation before the House today. For the last several years, I have woefully and repeatedly expressed concern about substantive changes to U.S. law contained in free trade agreements.”