May 10,2007

Grassley Welcomes Trade Agreement Framework, Looks Forward to Vetting Final Language

M E M O R A N D U M

To: Reporters and Editors

Re: Framework agreement on trade agreements

Da: Thursday, May 10, 2007

Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, today made thefollowing comment on the bipartisan framework agreement to proceed on pending trade agreements.

“I’m encouraged by this framework agreement. I’ve had a lot of discussions with ChairmanRangel, Chairman Baucus, Congressman McCrery, and Ambassador Schwab. Based on thosediscussions, we’ve made a lot of progress. Now we have a path forward on each of our tradeagreements. That includes implementation of our agreement with Colombia, one of our mostimportant allies in Latin America. And we’ve created momentum for renewing trade promotionauthority. I’m reserving final judgment until I see the actual text of what’s to be added to our tradeagreements, but I’m glad we’ve secured this bipartisan consensus on moving our trade agenda forward.”