Sen. Carper Statement on the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Bill

WASHINGTON– Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) issued the following statement after Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), leaders of the Senate Finance Committee on which Sen. Carper sits, introduced a bipartisan trade bill known as Trade Promotion Authority.

“I want to thank Chairman Hatch and Ranking Member Wyden for their tireless efforts to craft this bipartisan legislation that strengthens Congressional oversight to ensure that the outcome of trade negotiations is good for American workers, our environment, and our economy.

“This bill is a significant step forward for our process in negotiating fair and free trade deals. Notably, this legislation includes important new requirements that labor and environmental protections be fully enforceable, new prerequisites for taking on unfairly subsidized foreign state-owned enterprises, strong and balanced intellectual property protections, and new transparency requirements.

“In Delaware, international trade supports 120,000 jobs and billions of dollars in exports to 187 countries around the world. Clearly it’s an important part of our vibrant economy in the First State, but I know we could do much more. Our poultry farmers, who already create more than $4.5 billion in direct economic activity each year, have the capacity to increase production, but they need the ability to sell their goods in international markets. Updated trade agreements would provide that certainty and result in higher revenues and more jobs by addressing barriers that keep American goods from being sold in other countries.

“Congress must do its part to help both American workers and businesses – large and small – compete and win in our global economy. If we can work with the administration to craft thoughtful agreements that foster free and fair trade, the potential for our manufacturers, farmers and service providers is enormous. We must seize this opportunity and establish trade agreements that reflect our country’s high standards for labor and environmental protection, maximize American job creation and preservation, and ensure that we remain one of the world’s top economic competitors.

“Passing the Trade Promotion Authority bill introduced today will set the table to get the trade agreements that benefit American and Delawarean workers and businesses across the finish line. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee, in the full Senate and in Congress to make that happen.”

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