The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“THE EFFECTS OF NAFTA AND FAST-TRACK” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Commerce was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H9046 on Oct. 23, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE EFFECTS OF NAFTA AND FAST-TRACK
(Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to extend his remarks at this point in the Record and to include extraneous matter.)
Mr. STEARNS. Madam Speaker, since NAFTA has begun, Florida agriculture has lost in excess of $1 billion; Florida tomato farmers have alone lost $750 million.
So much for level playing fields and reduced tariffs. According to the O'Conner & Hannan law firm of Washington DC, ``For tomatoes, the losses are clearly due to the dumping of Mexican tomatoes in the U.S. market as determined by the Commerce Department. The primary cause of the injuries to Florida agriculture is NAFTA and its ineffectual safeguard provisions.''
The Florida Department of Citrus has further informed me, that after 3 years of NAFTA, Florida citrus is still not even allowed into Mexico. How is this possibly free or fair trade?
Congress needs to stand up to this destruction of American industries such as agriculture.
The administration and the proponents of granting renewed fast-track authority have failed to articulate the economic imperative of granting such authority.
Trade deals should be negotiated when possible on a case-by-case basis and given the stature of a formal treaty.
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