News & Insights

Washington DC – National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) President Bill Reinsch today issued the following statement regarding the results of the midterm elections and the implications for U.S. trade policy.

“We look forward to continuing an open dialogue on trade issues with all members of Congress. We will continue to push for support and enactment of policies that promote an open, rules-based global trading system and which bring the current round of multilateral trade negotiations to a successful conclusion. The U.S. economy and American workers win when members of Congress work across the aisle to pass legislation that expands market access and opportunity for U.S. businesses around the world.”

“Throughout both sessions of the 109^th Congress we have worked to build bipartisan support for trade legislation that has come before both houses. That will not change.”

“Only a little more than a decade ago, the U.S. House of Representatives demonstrated the great spirit of bipartisanship when they passed NAFTA by a vote of 234-200, with 132 Republicans and 102 Democrats voting in favor of the agreement. It is that bipartisan spirit for enacting important U.S. trade policy that we hope to see in the coming weeks and months. We look forward to working with the new leadership and advocating for broad bipartisan support on trade agreements aimed at opening market access for U.S. businesses.”

“Given the momentum building for approval of the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA), the granting of permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to Vietnam, and renewal of expiring trade preferences, those are our top priorities for the next several weeks. We call on Congress to use the limited days left in the legislative calendar to approve PNTR before Vietnam completes its accession to the WTO. Without congressional approval, upon Vietnam’s accession, other WTO member nations will receive the full benefits of tariff reductions and other concessions that the nation made. The United States will not.”

Advancing Global Commerce for Over 90 Years

The National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org) is a leading business organization advocating an open, rules-based global trading system. Founded in 1914 by a broad-based group of American companies, the NFTC now serves hundreds of member companies through its offices in Washington and New York.