Scott Fitzgerald: “I rise today to detail some of the benefits of trade promotion authority to American agriculture. Our President…”

“I rise today to detail some of the benefits of trade promotion authority to American agriculture. Our President, regardless of party, has not had trade negotiating authority since 1994. While other countries have been busy negotiating trade agreements, the world's superpower has been sitting on the sidelines. Today, over 150 trade agreements exist worldwide; the United States is party to only three. This disparity must be remedied, but without trade promotion authority, U.S. exporters and our nation's farmers may be left stuck in the mud. The question is not whether the U.S. should have free trade or no free trade. The question is, will the U.S. participate in the world economy or will we be left behind? TPA is critical to the administration's credibility at the negotiating table. Without TPA, our negotiators may not even get a seat at the table, much less have the opportunity to negotiate vigorously for our national interest. With 96 percent of consumers living outside the United States, the absence of negotiating authority is a price we cannot afford to pay. One third of U.S. farm acres is planted for export, 25 percent of gross farm income is export dependent, and over 12 million U.S. jobs depend on exports. Nearly 100 commodity and agricultural groups and a bipartisan group of ten former U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture support Trade Promotion Authority.”