WASHINGTON – This morning on Fox News Sunday, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) reiterated the importance of advancing Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and made the case for America leading, rather than retreating, in the global economy. Congressman Ryan also called on the President to convince members of his own party that trade is essential to growing the American economy. Excerpts of Chairman’s Ryan’s responses follow:
Advancing TPA was a ‘heavy lift,’ the President has more work to do:
“I am very proud of House Republicans and the pro-trade Democrats who delivered. We delivered big time . . . . The Democrats abandoned their president – the leader of their party – in droves on a bill and a program that they demanded as part of this, that they have previously voted for unanimously, that they asked as a part of the process. To me, it was stunning that they would do this to the leader of their party.”
“The president has a lot of work to do with his own party to turn this around and to salvage this. I’m optimistic. I think this can be salvaged because I think people will realize just how big the consequences are for American leadership, for whether or not America is going to lead in the global economy and write the rules or whether we are going to expand markets for more jobs or whether we are just going to retreat.”
TPA is about American leadership:
“We’re not talking about passing a trade agreement right now. [The Trans Pacific Partnership] is still being negotiated. It doesn’t exist yet as an agreement. We’re talking about whether we can even consider a trade agreement, whether Congress can set up the procedures to consider trade agreements so that we can have more American leadership in the economy for more American trade so we can create more jobs for Americans that pay more. This is what this is about: it’s about global leadership.”
Small businesses & American workers benefit from trade:
“Big corporations can set up a factory in another country to make something there and sell it there. By getting trade agreements, you are removing those trade barriers so that you can make things in America, so small businesses can be a part of trade. They are the ones who benefit the most. And trade creates more jobs. One in five jobs in America are tied to trade and they pay more, so more American trade means more small businesses and more jobs.”
America needs to lead on trade & write the rules of the global economy:
“There have been 100 trade agreements put in place since 2007, when TPA last lapsed, and America has been a party to zero of those. What this means is that the rest of the world is getting better deals between their countries and keeping barriers up for America.”
“To say that America is not going to engage in the world, [to say that America] is not going to knock down barriers or get other countries to play by our rules – that would be a massive mistake and a failure of American leadership. Republicans delivered though. I’m happy to say that Republicans have delivered. The question is, are the Democrats are going to do this to the President.”
On Secretary Clinton’s reluctance to take a stand on TPA:
“Pick a position, that’s what leaders do. . . . Surely, a person who was Secretary of State understands something about American leadership and to refuse to even take a position is sort of mystifying to me.”
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