Expanding Montana’s Trade Opportunities
Bringing Montana’s Producers to the World
Ninety-six percent of the world's consumers are outside the United States, and I've been working to introduce them to Montana's products. Over the past few years alone, I've led trade missions with Montanans to Thailand, New Zealand, Australia, China, India, and Cuba. I will keep leading these delegations, because each trip reveals new opportunities and new markets for Montana business and agriculture. Following a recent visit to Cuba, I helped Montana producers secure a $7.8 million deal for Montana peas and lentils.
Bringing the World’s Buyers to Montana
I also want the world's consumers and businesses to know about opportunities in Montana, which is why I've hosted foreign delegations in Big Sky country. I convinced this Administration to hold its formal trade negotiations with Thailand and Korea not in Washington, D.C., but in Montana. I’ve hosted several ambassadors’ tours of Montana, and almost twenty ambassadors have seen all that Montana has to offer. This year, I welcomed a delegation of ambassadors from New Zealand, Peru, Colombia, Vietnam, and Morocco, introducing them to folks in Helena, Butte, Missoula and Kalispell. As a follow up to that trip, the Colombian Trade Minister is planning to bring a delegation of interested buyers to see Montana’s world class products for themselves.
Meeting face-to-face with the world's political and economic leadership helps me make Montana priorities loud and clear. This is why I've built relationships with government leaders around the world - to help get things done for Montana. Before I supported a free trade agreement with Australia, I met one-on-one with Australian Prime Minister John Howard to strike the best deal for Montanans. I’ve made clear to Korea’s leadership – from the President on down - that I will hold up the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement until their market is open to Montana beef.
Expanding Trade Adjustment Assistance
As Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, I’m also setting the nation’s international trade agenda for today and years to come. My top priority is reforming and expanding Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), a program that helps Montana workers and farmers hurt by international trade. This year, I will fight to put a program in place that expands the number of workers eligible for TAA, doubles worker retraining funds, and makes health insurance more affordable.
Enforcing Trade Laws
I will also work to beef up enforcement of our trade laws with more resources and know how to make sure our trading partners live up to their obligations. This includes making sure our trading partners abide by international standards and accept our agriculture products, including Montana beef. It means keeping undervalued imports of softwood lumber from Canada from distorting our markets and threatening the livelihood of Montana's timber workers. It also means keeping countries like China from stealing our innovators’ intellectual property, and keeping unsafe food and product imports off our store shelves.
Improving Free Trade Agreements For Workers
As Chairman of the Finance Committee, I will work to craft trade tools that open the markets the right way on a consensus basis. These tools -- including free trade agreements -- must be as innovative and up to date as our economy. They need to reflect a broad coalition of American interests and priorities, including American workers’ priorities. Last year, I helped craft a breakthrough deal that required the United States and its pending FTA partners to implement the five core International Labor Organization standards. These labor obligations will be enforceable through the same dispute settlement mechanism that applies to all other trade agreement obligations.
Standing Up For Our Outdoor Heritage
Montanans value few things more than the time they spend outdoors, hunting, fishing, and hiking. That’s why I’ve been fighting to make sure that trade does not harm our environment or violate our environmental laws and standards. Last year’s deal also included provisions to make sure our trading partners comply with seven multilateral environmental agreements, including agreements on endangered species and wetlands conservation. As with the labor obligations, the environmental obligations will be enforced in the same way as all of our other trade agreement provisions.
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