Madam Speaker, I rise today to support HR 3688, the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act.
I am supporting this Agreement because it is a crucial step on a new path forward for U.S. trade policy. It incorporates for the first time key provisions to protect workers, the environment and consumers and elevates those issues to a position of equal footing with the other parts of the Agreement.
I, like many of my Democratic colleagues, opposed the U.S.-Central American FTA because that Agreement did not incorporate enforceable basic workers’ rights as a key component of the Agreement. The Peru FTA is a new model for trade that will permanently change that practice.
I am also supporting this Agreement because it helps balance the scales for American entrepreneurs. More than 90% of imports from the Andean countries already enter the U.S. duty free. This is, however, not the case for American exports to these countries. This trade agreement with Peru will fix this imbalance by building a mutually beneficial, reciprocal trade partnership. Immediately, there will be meaningful and substantial access to the Peruvian markets for U.S. consumer and industrial goods.
Last week, the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement was reported out of the Ways and Means Committee by a vote of 39-0. That vote was reflective of the confidence committee members had in the new approach on trade we are advancing today with this Agreement.
I support this Agreement and encourage my colleagues to do the same.