Rep. Pitts supports CAFTA

Trade agreement will mean more American jobs, lower prices

Washington — Congressman Joe Pitts (R, PA-16) last night cast a vote in support of the Dominican Republic Central American Free Trade Agreement, DR-CAFTA.  Congressman Pitts issued the following statement in support of the agreement, which passed the House last night by a vote of 217 to 215.

“CAFTA has received a lot of criticism from many on the other side, but sometimes critics can be wrong.

“Does free trade present challenges to consumers and workers? Absolutely. Is it the death knell for manufacturers or textile makers? By no means.

“CAFTA opens new markets to American products.   Without CAFTA Central American countries can ship their products to the United States at will, while American products are subject to tariffs.  This is a huge incentive to outsource American jobs.  With CAFTA, however, tariffs on American products are dropped and American goods can be sold readily in Central America . 

“When these barriers are dropped, I believe that when given the chance American workers, American products, American ingenuity can compete with any other nation on the planet.  Free trade enables us to do it.  In so doing, it lowers costs for consumers here and actually creates jobs. That’s right, every year hundreds of thousands of jobs are in-sourced to this country.  These are high paying jobs too.

“We have all dealt with the pain of local factories shutting down and businesses closing.  It’s tragic whenever it happens. But the fact is that even without free trade, businesses close.  Free trade makes sure we have a flow of capital and jobs coming into the Nation.  And in the long run that keeps more businesses open.

“So should we compete in the global economy or let it pass by?  I choose to compete. I choose more and better jobs for my constituents.”

#   #   #