Paul Writes Fellow Members of
Congress Seeks Support for Bill to Pull US from
WTO
Today Congressman Ron Paul wrote to fellow Members of Congress asking that
they join him and cosponsor HJR 90, a privileged resolution seeking to remove
the United States from the World Trade Organization (WTO).
By law, the House must grant expedited consideration to the resolution which
Paul introduced Monday together with original cosponsors Duncan Hunter, James
Duncan, Gene Taylor and Jack Metcalf.
"When the US joined the WTO 146 Members of Congress stood up and voted No,
now that we have seen the record of the WTO it is time for a majority of the
House to get out," Paul said. Detailing some of the actions of the WTO to which
he objects Paul pointed not only to the fact that European nations were ignoring
WTO decisions but, more importantly he said, "on issues from environmental
issues such as imported shrimp to tax policy, the WTO has ruled against the
people of the United States." Paul was particularly critical of the WTO ruling
against Foreign Services Corporations. "The WTO is not pro-trade, they believe
that the American people are under-taxed and that is what this ruling against
FSC's shows. Look, our nation was founded on the cry of no taxation without
representation and frankly it is not up to bureaucrats in Geneva to tell
Americans what tax policies they can and cannot have."
Paul said he had long predicted that this kind of adverse ruling would come
from the WTO "when we surrender decision making to an international organization
that does not care one whit for American interests or the citizens we are
elected to represent how could we expect any other outcome?" Paul also
reiterated his own strong support for free trade. "We should have low tariffs
and trade freely with other nations, in fact I believe we should end our
embargoes on nations like Cuba, Iraq and Iran," Paul said. "The problem is not
trade but rather surrendering our policies to these feckless bureaucrats at
international organizations," Paul stated.
Paul was also critical of the administration and its handling of the issue.
"They filed their WTO report late, that is yet another explicit violation of
federal law, so obviously the administration does whatever it wants even when
there is a controlling legal authority." Paul also criticized US Trade
Representative Charlene Barshefsky for comments she reportedly made about the
Congress.
Barshefsky reportedly suggested that Congressmen were unqualified to
consider trade issues "most of them do not even hold passports" she was reported
as stating. In response, Paul concluded, "The Clinton-Gore Administration may
hold the American people in contempt but I reject these highly offensive
attacks. Perhaps the bureaucrats hired by Clinton and Gore believe the American
people are stupid for electing representatives who do not hold passports but we
will not be intimidated, we have a right to representation in this country and
we will vote on this bill regardless of the tactics of this administration. We
are not going to sit back and let the WTO set tax, trade, environmental and
labor policy for the United States simply because this administration trusts
bureaucrats in Switzerland more than it trusts the American people and their
representatives here in Congress."