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The assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of Robert B. Zoellick, of Virginia, to be United States Trade

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   The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the time for debate on the nomination shall be limited to 2 hours equally divided between the chairman, Mr. Grassley, and the ranking member, Mr. Baucus.

   The Senator from Montana.

   Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

   Today we are taking up the nomination of Robert Zoellick to be United States Trade Representative. Mr. Zoellick appeared before the Finance Committee exactly one week ago, and I am pleased that we have been able to schedule this vote so quickly. I support this nomination, and I urge my colleagues to join in supporting his confirmation at the end of this debate.

   Trade has never been as important to the American economy as it is today. The import and export of goods and services is equivalent to 27 percent of America's gross domestic product, as compared to only 11 percent in 1970. Opening and expanding markets around the world for our manufactured goods, our agricultural commodities, and our services is critical for our economy to grow and for the creation of good quality jobs at home. Expanded trade is also critical for global economic growth.

   For that reason, I was very pleased that President Bush, when announcing the selection of Robert Zoellick to be USTR, stressed that Mr. Zoellick would be a member of the Cabinet and would report directly to the President. Trade must have a prominent and equal place at the table when we make decisions about our Nation's global affairs.

   Last year, the Congress and the Administration worked together on trade policy. We had a number of significant accomplishments. We passed a bill to extend permanent normal trade relations status to China, PNTR, once it accedes to the WTO, a monumental achievement. We passed legislation on expanding trade with Africa and enhancing CBI, the Caribbean Basin Initiative. We changed the structure of the Foreign Sales Corporation. And we passed a Miscellaneous Tariffs Act.

   This year, we have a full trade agenda. We must build on the progress we made last year. We must make sure that we are not left behind as other nations make new trade arrangements with each other. Let me stress that our trade policy and our efforts at further trade liberalization must be carried out in the proper way.

   Our first priority must be to rebuild the consensus on trade in this country. Further progress on trade liberalization and opening markets requires a political consensus, and that means a public consensus. We must demonstrate to all our citizens that trade and expanding markets contribute to their prosperity. We must address legitimate labor and environmental concerns in our trade agreements. We must aggressively enforce our trade laws. And we must ensure that we provide new opportunities to those who have been left behind by globalization.

   One focus of discussion during Mr. Zoellick's confirmation hearing was whether it was appropriate to include labor and environmental issues in trade negotiations. In fact, this has dominated much of the trade policy debate over the past decade.

   I must confess to a good deal of frustration. Trade-related labor and environmental issues were addressed in NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and in the U.S.-Jordan FTA. The United States concluded a historic agreement with Cambodia in cooperation with the International Labor Organization that tied increased access to the United States market to Cambodian observance of basic labor rights. Our law on the Generalized System of Preferences, GSP, as well as the Caribbean Basin Initiative, CBI, also include labor provisions.

   Labor and environmental issues were on track to be included in free trade agreements with Singapore and Chile that the Clinton Administration was negotiating in its closing days.

   Labor and environmental issues have been discussed under the aegis of the world trading system. In the last several years, a number of important WTO disputes have directly involved environmental matters. The WTO has created a Committee on the Environment.

   And the interest in labor and environment is not limited to the United States. In developing the European Union, the countries of Europe addressed these issues. As they work on their own free trade area, some of our neighbors in Latin America have also recognized the need to address labor and the environment.

   In short, like it or not, environment and labor issues are firmly on the trade agenda. Unfortunately, at least in some circles, the debate in the United States goes on as if none of these things had happened, as if the issues will just go away if we do not talk about them.

   I fear that a major reason for the disappearance of the public and political consensus in the United States is our refusal to acknowledge these important issues. I don't pretend to know all the answers about how to deal with these complex questions, but I do know that it is long past time for us to acknowledge them and to begin to address them.

   For this reason, I have made it clear that I will vote against fast track trade negotiating authority, and work to defeat it, unless labor and environmental issues are meaningfully addressed.

   I welcome the fact that, in his confirmation hearing, Mr. Zoellick expressed a willingness to address these issues. In that spirit, let me issue a challenge to him and to the Bush Administration on three specific labor and environmental issues related to trade.

   First, I call on Mr. Zoellick to endorse the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement and work for prompt congressional passage. Among other provisions, this agreement calls upon Jordan and the United States to adhere to their own labor and environmental laws. Because of this, the agreement has been endorsed by many labor and environmental groups.

   Some have asserted that the Jordan agreement would open our labor and environmental laws to challenge or would block us from making any change in our own laws. This is simply untrue.

   The agreement only requires that each country enforce its own laws and not make changes designed to distort trade. The agreement states explicitly that each country has the right to establish its own domestic labor and environmental standards and laws.

   I cannot imagine how these modest provisions can credibly be seen as a threat. I can only conclude that those making the charges have not read the agreement. I refer them to the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement.

   Second, I call on Mr. Zoellick to implement rigorously the Executive Order requiring an environmental assessment of all trade agreements. These assessments help to focus discussion, identify issues, and avoid needless problems. We should be doing these assessments for all future trade agreements.

   Finally, I call on Mr. Zoellick to appoint an Assistant USTR for Labor. This position was created last year and has never been filled. A trade official focused on labor could ensure that labor issues are not ignored and serve as an important point of contact between our trade negotiators and the labor community. This position should be filled before the April Ministerial meeting that will discuss the Free Trade Area for the Americas, the FTAA.

   By taking these three steps, Mr. Zoellick and the Bush Administration would demonstrate that the commitments to work together in a bipartisan fashion are real and not just rhetoric. It would help set the stage for granting fast track authority and go a long way toward establishing trust between the Congress and the administration on trade policy.

   As Mr. Zoellick sends his deputies to the Finance Committee for confirmation, I plan to review his progress in meeting these three challenges that I have set out today.

   Let me now discuss a number of other trade issues that will be before the Administration and the Congress in the coming months.

   I have already discussed the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement. Jordan is a critical partner in our effort to promote lasting peace in the Middle East. This agreement will help bring our two nations even closer together.

   Second, the Administration should send the U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade

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   Third, President Bush will attend the Summit of the Americas in Quebec in April, where the major topic will be progress on completing a Free Trade Area for the Americas. I support trade liberalization in this hemisphere. I will support fast track negotiating authority for the FTAA, so long as it properly accommodates legitimate labor and environmental concerns. I hope that President Bush will tell the gathering of leaders in Quebec that he plans to work closely with Congress, business, labor, and environmental groups over the coming year so that he can succeed in enactment of this negotiating authority.

   Fourth, the U.S.-Canada Softwood Lumber Agreement expires on March 31. Today, the U.S. lumber industry is in dire straits. The price of lumber is less than in 1995. Many timber operations in Montana, and around the nation, have closed as a result of the depressed lumber market--displacing workers and devastating communities. The Canadian softwood lumber industry receives over four billion dollars in stumpage and other subsidies annually. There is considerable evidence that they are dumping lumber into the United States. To make matters worse, the absence of adequate environmental laws in Canada clearly provides an unfair advantage to Canadian firms. It contributes to over-cutting in Canada's forests and damages the environment, with significant implications for our own forests and environment. We need to resolve this issue quickly and, I hope, avoid lengthy and costly litigation.

   Fifth, the agriculture crisis. Commodity prices remain near record low levels. Agriculture is Montana's largest industry. Over 60 percent of Montana's grain and meat products are exported, so the farmers and ranchers in my state depend on new and growing markets. We need to expand agricultural exports from Montana and from the entire country. That means:

   Opening agricultural markets around the world.

   Attacking the massive agricultural export subsidies of the European Union that distort food trade world-wide.

   Getting Europe to end its decade-old ban on U.S. hormone-treated beef.

   Taking measures to end the trade distorting activities of the Canadian and Australian wheat boards, including completion of the Section 301 investigation of the anti-competitive practices of the Canadian Wheat Board.

   Ensuring that China fully implements its WTO obligations, as well at the U.S.-China bilateral agreement on agricultural cooperation.

   Abandoning unilateral embargoes, including the embargo on Cuba that has closed that market to our food producers.

   Ensuring that our domestic agriculture industry is insulated against devastating surges of imports, such as has happened with lamb.

   Sixth, the survival of America's steel industry is in jeopardy. Over the next few months, Congress, the Administration, the steel companies, and the United Steelworkers of America must work together on a program to prevent irreparable damage to this important sector of our economy.

   Finally, we need to develop a comprehensive approach to monitoring and compliance of trade agreements. This includes bilateral agreements as well as multilateral commitments of our trading partners. China's accession to the WTO will present further new challenges to our ability to ensure full compliance. We need an early assessment of the monitoring activities in the Executive Branch to ensure that we are using them as effectively as we can. I welcome Mr. Zoellick's statement at his confirmation hearing that justice delayed is justice denied. We take a double hit when we fail to ensure full compliance with trade agreements. First, our businesses, workers, and farmers don't receive the benefits we negotiated. And then, our credibility as a nation is damaged, and our future negotiating ability is hampered. We must be more aggressive on monitoring and compliance.

   This is a full agenda for a short period of time. I look forward to working closely with Bob Zoellick as we try to rebuild the consensus for trade so that we can enhance the benefits to America of opening markets and expanding trade liberalization.

   Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

   The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.

   Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

   The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

   Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I yield myself such time as I might consume.

   I apologize to Senator Baucus because I was not here to hear his statement. I am glad he was able to go ahead and proceed with his opening statement. I also appreciate Senator Baucus' cooperation during the hearing and, more importantly, to be able to bring this nomination to the floor without our committee meeting.

   Obviously, I am going to support President Bush's nomination of Robert Zoellick to the position of U.S. Trade Representative. As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, I am pleased to report to my distinguished colleagues that Robert Zoellick is uniquely qualified to represent the United States in an extremely important position--important because the trade negotiations that will take place in the year 2001. As far as the trade negotiations that are ongoing, similar to the China wall, they never stop.

   They just go on and on.

   I want to go into some detail about Mr. Zoellick's impressive professional qualifications for a very demanding and highly sensitive Cabinet post. One of the questions I asked him in the private meeting in my office was whether or not he was prepared to spend this much time away from home. There is much time away from family because there is a tremendous commitment to travel with this job besides the policymaking. You get the impression that these people who do our trade negotiations just never have any private time whatsoever. Obviously, when he takes on a demanding job such as this, we know he is committed to doing what needs to be done.

   Before I go into his impressive professional background, I would like to say a word about his performance at his Senate Finance Committee nomination hearing. That was on January 30.

   I think it is fair to say that Members on both sides of the aisle were highly impressed with Mr. Zoellick's thorough command of complex trade issues, with his broad visions of America's historic leadership role in the whole international trade regime, and with his understanding of the close cooperation required between the legislative and executive branches of government in crafting and implementing an effective U.S. trade policy.

   The nature of trade issues Congress will deal with this year clearly requires that a person of Mr. Zoellick's stature and ability be the U.S. Trade Representative.

   In regard to working closely with Congress, understand that Congress has the authority to regulate international, or what you call interstate, and foreign commerce. We guard this very jealously. We have to, in the process of doing that under the practicality of 535 Members of Congress and negotiating with 138 different countries in the World Trade Organization on the issues of reducing tariff and nontariff trade barriers or settling any sort of dispute. From time to time, Congress has given the President of the United States the authority to do that in negotiation. But we do it with a very tight rein. I suppose in the future it will be even more of a tighter rein. That requires a person in Mr. Zoellick's position as U.S. Trade Representative to work very closely with the Congress, particularly the Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, consulting with us on a regular basis. That consultation,

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   I will mention a few of the challenges that face Mr. Zoellick, and then I will go into why Mr. Zoellick is ideally suited to deal with them.

   One important trade challenge right around the corner is the free trade area of the Americas negotiations.

   The objective of these talks, which are supposed to conclude in 2005, is to create a single free trade zone of nearly 700 million people, stretching from the Arctic Ocean in the North, to Tierra del Fuego in the South.

   The free trade area is the single most important economic initiative we have undertaken with Latin America since President Kennedy launched the Alliance for Progress in 1961.

   Latin America is our fastest growing regional trade partner. Roughly 46 percent of all the goods manufactured in this country are exported to our own hemisphere. We export large amounts of our agricultural products to the FTAA countries as well.

   Our continued prosperity, and our leadership in world trade, clearly rests on the success of these talks.

   But when you see the concentration of trade in the Western Hemisphere, you know why these talks are singularly important.

   Yet despite the obvious importance of the FTAA, there is little agreement on the major issues under discussion. It's time to get these talks moving again. And it's time for the United States to resume its leadership in trade not only in the Western Hemisphere but in all areas.

   The FTAA Ministerial Conference is coming up in Buenos Aires in the first week in April. Two weeks after the FTAA Ministerial, the United States will attend the Third Summit of the Americas in Quebec City.

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