Earlier this month I traveled to Southeast Asia with an eight-member U.S. congressional delegation. We visited South Korea, Vietnam, and Cambodia, and in each country we met with heads of state, political and business leaders, and educators.

I had a number of specific goals that I wanted to accomplish during the trip. You might be surprised to know that the First Congressional District already has many interests in Southeast Asia, and we have a lot to gain from increasing those relations and turning them to our advantage.

My first stop was Seoul, South Korea, and I had three big issues on my mind: steel, rice, and airplanes. The Koreans are currently in the habit of dumping their steel on the U.S. market, which is driving prices down and making things difficult for our local steel producers in Mississippi County. They’re also not abiding by a 1993 agreement to buy 60 per cent of their rice from the USA, and as their importation of rice increases, Korea will become a growing market for our region’s biggest crop. Moreover, I was concerned when I heard that the Korean military is thinking about buying fighter planes from a French company, because Boeing (which has a manufacturing facility in Izard County) is competing for that contract.

So I told the Koreans that the USA has 37,000 troops stationed in their country to provide for their defense, and for that reason they need to treat us fairly on trade issues. I pushed them to stop the steel dumping, stick to our agreement on rice, and use American contractors for their civil and military aviation procurement.

In Vietnam, I had similar trade-related concerns. Number one on my list is their current practice of undercutting American fish farmers in exporting catfish. Our local aquaculture industry is very important to the economy of the First Congressional District, and I want to make sure that it can compete in the international market on equal terms with other countries. In addition to urging the Vietnamese to reconsider their catfish pricing, I also pushed them to grant more market access to American crops, all of which face import restrictions there.

In all my meetings with Vietnamese and Cambodian officials, I reminded them that we strongly support their transitions to market-oriented economies, and we want them to continue moving toward solidifying stable democratic governments, but we will not tolerate anything other than a level playing field on trade.

Southeast Asia is emerging as a major market for agriculture products and other goods manufactured in the First Congressional District. We will benefit from more trade with that region, and hopefully this closer relationship will allow us to take a larger role in promoting better working conditions and human rights for the citizens there. I am glad I had the opportunity to represent our local interests at this crucial time.