Washington, DC - Congressman Jim McCrery, Ranking Member, Committee on Ways and Means and Congressman Wally Herger, Ranking Member Committee on Ways and Means, Trade Subcommittee offered the following comments on the announcement that USTR will launch negotiations to join the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership:

Congressman McCrery stated, "We applaud Ambassador Schwab for taking this important step to advance the U.S. trade agenda.  This negotiation represents an important opportunity to work with other countries in the Asia-Pacific region to open markets to U.S. exports.  This agreement can be a launching pad for increased exports not only to Chile, Singapore, New Zealand, and Brunei, but also to other countries who may join the regional economic partnership.  The Trans-Pacific region accounts for nearly 60 percent of world GDP and almost half of all global trade. During this time of economic uncertainty, rapidly growing U.S. exports have accounted for the majority of America’s economic growth.  The United States should be taking every opportunity to open markets to American-made goods and services to help sustain this growth."

Congressman McCrery further stated, “There are over 100 trade agreements being negotiated by countries in the Trans-Pacific region, and the United States is at risk of falling behind in this fast-growing and vital region.  Our participation in these negotiations is necessary to allow us to compete with other countries that otherwise would complete agreements freezing out American workers.  This negotiation underscores the need for Congress to provide the President and the next Administration with Trade Promotion Authority to complete fair trade agreements with these and other important trading partners. ” 

Congressman Herger stated, “Fair trade agreements are vital to sustaining America’s economic prosperity and manufacturing base.  As of July, the United States had a trade surplus in manufactured products of $8.1 billion with NAFTA, CAFTA, and our other trade agreement partners.  These negotiations are another important step in opening markets for exports of American-made goods and services.  In addition, Congress should act now to open markets to exports of American-made products by passing the pending agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea to further open markets to exports of American-made products.”

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