December 04,2007

Baucus Statement on U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement

Mr. President, I urge my Colleagues to vote in favor of the United States-Peru Trade Promotion
Agreement.

Peru is no ordinary country. And the Peru agreement is no ordinary free trade agreement. Peru is
a vibrant country. It is marked by the diversity of its dramatic and varied landscapes, abundant
and rich wildlife, and strong people. Peru provides a home to more than 170 million acres of
forest and 84 of the 103 existing ecosystems on the planet.

And it is the birthplace of the Inca civilization, the builders of the incomparable Machu Picchu
complex in the Andean highlands. Their descendants live on today in Peru’s thriving indigenous
communities.

This remarkable diversity of landscape, wildlife, and people deserves to be protected. And the
strong labor and environmental provisions of the Peru agreement ensure that it will be.

Since 1985, when the United States entered into a free trade agreement with Israel, we have
entered into bilateral or regional free trade agreements with no fewer than 15 additional countries.

And since then, Democrats have sought to make labor and environmental issues a greater priority in trade agreements.

We had limited success, until now.

The Peru agreement is, in fact, a groundbreaking achievement. Months of complex negotiations
involving numerous parties and difficult compromises on all sides resulted in a landmark deal
between Congress and the administration.

We agreed to include strong labor and environmental provisions in all of our pending trade
agreements, beginning with the Peru agreement.

This is truly a remarkable accomplishment. And we should be proud of what we have achieved.
For the first time ever, the Peru agreement requires the parties to implement the five core
International Labor Organization standards.

For the first time ever, the Peru agreement requires the parties to implement seven core
environmental treaties.

And for the first time ever, the Peru agreement makes these labor and environmental provisions
fully enforceable by subjecting them to the same dispute settlement mechanism that applies to all other obligations.

Some may criticize the agreement as not going far enough. But these provisions are, in fact,
exactly what many of us in Congress and in the labor and environmental movements have been
seeking to include in trade agreements for decades.

They will benefit workers. They will encourage environmentally sustainable development. And
they will ensure that the Peru agreement helps to export our fundamental values abroad at the
same time that it helps to export our products and services abroad.

The agreement also strengthens our ties with a stalwart ally in an increasingly troubled part of the world. It is an agreement with a leading reformer in our hemisphere. It is an agreement with one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America.

And it is an agreement with solid commercial benefits for the United States. Ninety-eight percent
of Peruvian exports to the United States already receive duty-free treatment under various U.S.
preference programs. This agreement levels the playing field and allows our exports to enjoy the
same benefits in Peru.

To cite just one example: More than two thirds of current U.S. farm exports to Peru — including
delicious Montana beef and wheat — will receive immediate duty-free access to Peru under the
agreement. And all remaining tariffs on Montana and other U.S. agricultural goods will be
eliminated within 17 years.

For Peru, this agreement means better conditions for its workers, strengthened protections for its
amazingly diverse environment, and greater integration into the world economy. And our
neighbors to the south can hope that it represents a first step toward increased prosperity,
transparency, and stability for the Latin American region as a whole.

This agreement demonstrates what Congress and the administration can achieve when we work
together. I hope that we can build on the success of this agreement to heal the wounds of
previous battles. And I hope that we can begin to recreate a consensus for trade liberalization
going forward.

But the Peru agreement is only one step in this process. Enactment of a robust and modernized
Trade Adjustment Assistance program should be our next focus, certainly before this Congress
considers additional free trade agreements.

We cannot expect support for trade agreements unless we fulfill our responsibility to ensure that
trade-displaced workers — whether in the manufacturing or services sector — are able to retrain
and retool for the 21st century economy. I look forward to working with my Colleagues, and
with the administration, on TAA reauthorization very soon.

Mr. President, for all of these reasons, I am pleased to support the United States-Peru Trade
Promotion Agreement Implementation Act. I urge my Colleagues to support it as well.

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