Washington D.C. - The Ways & Means Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member, U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX), comments on USTR-Designate Kirk’s Testimony to the Senate Finance Committee:

“I applaud many of the key aspects of Mayor Kirk’s testimony and the President’s Trade Agenda, in particular, the acknowledgment that continued trade is essential to our economic recovery and that we must move forward on our pending FTAs. 

I am committed to working with the President and Mayor Kirk to develop promptly a “plan of action” to address the pending trade agreements.  The President’s interest in moving the Panama FTA “relatively quickly” is encouraging.  Likewise, I welcome their promise to establish benchmarks for the Colombian and South Korean FTAs.  More important than the order in which Congress votes on these agreements, however, is identifying at the outset what the road forward entails for each of them.   I understand the concerns that the President has with respect to the Colombian and South Korean FTAs, and I look forward to bipartisan work with him and Mayor Kirk to address them satisfactorily.  I believe this work can—and should—happen in tandem with any formal action on the Panama agreement. 

At the same time, I believe that the May 10 agreement underscores how Democrats and Republicans have come together to give proper regard to labor and environmental issues in trade agreements in ways that benefit diverse interests in the United States and abroad.  I stand by their inclusion in the pending trade agreements, and I am very troubled by any effort to add new elements to this vital compromise that do not have bipartisan support.

I welcome the goal expressed by the President and Mayor Kirk to seek broader participation in the trade debate and recognize the challenges that we face ahead.  While I believe that enforcement of our trade rights is an essential part of building a consensus on trade agreements, it is not the only path to increasing our exports and helping our economy recover.  We must also, at the same time, develop new markets for the exports of American goods and services.  I am disappointed not to see more of a proactive approach by the President and his team in this regard.”