WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today said the following remarks at hearing of the Senate Finance Committee with U.S. Trade Representative, Ron Kirk regarding the 2010 Trade Agenda:

“I’m pleased with the Administration’s proposed National Export Initiative (NEI),” Roberts said. “I hope that in the development of the NEI, all aspects of export promotion are addressed, including lowering tariffs on U.S. goods and services. However, I hope that the NEI doesn’t distract us from the real issue at hand: the lack of trade engagement.

“Economists say the American economy cannot be driven solely on consumption. I agree with that. So, why are we resting on our laurels when we could be taking advantage of the two-way trade opportunities provided by the Colombian trade agreement? Right now, under various preference programs, most of their goods come into our market duty free. The Colombia FTA merely balances the playing field and opens up their market to U.S. goods and services. Big opportunities await U.S. exporters in Panama. There’s a big canal project down there with plenty of opportunities for our service and large equipment industries. While issues remain with the U.S.-Korea FTA such as beef, a path forward is there. The U.S. economy cannot afford to let these job creating opportunities pass us by. Other countries certainly are not.

“One of the real threats to U.S. producers and exporters is that we’re sitting on the sidelines while other countries are taking full advantage of our absence and negotiating trade agreements without us. Not only do we lose when we’re not at the table, our competitors have a leg up on U.S. exporters in expanding market share and blocking out the competition. This is already happening as we see with the recent trade agreement between Korea and the EU. Watching and waiting is to our own detriment.

“It is beyond time to move past the ‘enforcement only’ approach to trade and truly engage in the global market.”

Senator Roberts is a member of the Senate Committee on Finance and is a strong advocate for removing barriers to trade so that the U.S. may compete in a global marketplace.

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