December 6, 2001
Statement Opposing Unconstitutional "Trade Promotion
Authority"
Mr. Speaker, we are asked today to grant the President so-called
trade promotion authority, authority that has nothing to do with free
trade. Proponents of this legislation claim to support free trade, but
really they support government-managed trade that serves certain
interests at the expense of others. True free trade occurs only in the absence
of interference by government, that's why it's called "free"-
it's free of government taxes, quotas, or embargoes. The term
''free-trade agreement" is an oxymoron. We don't need government
agreements to have free trade; but we do need to get the federal
government out of the way and unleash the tremendous energy of the
American economy.
Our founders understood the folly of trade agreements between
nations; that is why they expressly granted the authority to regulate
trade to Congress alone, separating it from the treaty-making power
given to the President and Senate. This legislation clearly represents
an unconstitutional delegation of congressional authority to the
President. Simply put, the Constitution does not permit international
trade agreements. Neither Congress nor the President can set trade
policies in concert with foreign governments or international bodies.
The loss of national sovereignty inherent in government-managed trade
cannot be overstated. If you don't like GATT, NAFTA, and the WTO, get
ready for even more globalist intervention in our domestic affairs. As
we enter into new international agreements, be prepared to have our
labor, environmental, and tax laws increasingly dictated or at least
influenced by international bodies. We've already seen this with our
foreign sales corporation tax laws, which we changed solely to comply
with a WTO ruling. Rest assured that TPA will accelerate the trend
toward global government, with our Constitution fading into history.
Congress can promote true free trade without violating the
Constitution. We can lift the trade embargo against Cuba, end Jackson-Vanik
restrictions on Kazakhstan, and repeal sanctions on Iran. These markets
should be opened to American exporters, especially farmers. We can
reduce our tariffs unilaterally- taxing American consumers hardly
punishes foreign governments. We can unilaterally end the subsidies that
international agreements purportedly seek to reduce. We can simply
repeal protectionist barriers to trade, so-called NTB's, that stifle
economic growth.
Mr. Speaker, we are not promoting free trade today, but we are
undermining our sovereignty and the constitutional separation of powers.
We are avoiding the responsibilities with which our constituents have
entrusted us. Remember, congressional authority we give up today will
not be restored when less popular Presidents take office in the future.
I strongly urge all of my colleagues to vote NO on TPA.