WASHINGTON — This afternoon on CNBC’s Closing Bell, House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) discussed the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015. During the interview, Ryan reiterated the importance of reaching a trade agreement with 12 Pacific nations and explained why the United States should be writing the rules for the global economy, rather than China.

Excerpts of Chairman Ryan’s responses follow. Video of the interview is accessible here.

Advancing reforms to build a healthy economy:

“I’m for jobs, I’m for expanding trade, and I am for bringing markets to American products. That’s why this is necessary. I am for making sure America is writing the rules of the global economy with our trade."

Getting Congress involved in trade ensures transparency and accountability:

"[TPA] actually puts Congress in the driver’s seat here. This is Congress putting up obligations that the President has to submit to, that he has to conform to, when negotiating a trade agreement. It’s 150 guidelines that the administration has to hew to with transparency and accountability in order to get a trade agreement an up or down vote in Congress and then, if Congress decides that he did fulfill those obligations then we’ll do that up or down vote. And if Congress decides that he did not fulfill those obligations then we can remove TPA for that particular trade agreement. So, what this really does Kelly, is it puts Congress in the driver’s seat along with the administration and it gets Congress involved in the front end of the process."

Expanding access to markets is good for America’s job-creators and workers:

"The question really here is: who is going to write the rules of the global economy? Is it going to be the U.S. and our allies? Or is it going to be China? That’s one question. 96% of the world’s consumers don’t live in America. They live in other countries. And if we want more jobs, if we want higher wages, we need to make more things in America and sell them overseas. And that’s why we need to open up markets."

"We need to get in the game. We need to lower trade barriers. Oh and by the way, 1 out of 5 jobs in America, they are tied to trade and those jobs on average pay more than other jobs. So, we need to get in this game and we need to write the rules of the road. We want American jobs to be increased and more wages and we think these trade agreements, done correctly, will do this. And we think this Trade Promotion Authority is the right balance to give the President the tools he needs to get a good agreement. But giving him obligations for Congress: accountability, transparency with the American public, and we are setting the standards that need to be hewed to in any trade agreement when he actually brings one back to Congress."

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