September 18, 2006: The Oman Free Trade Agreement

The Senate was in session for a little over four hours.  They are debating the Oman Free Trade Agreement.  No record votes were taken.  They will take up consideration of the Trade Agreement again tomorrow.

Senator Kent Conrad (ND) urged his fellow senators to reject the Oman Free Trade Agreement.  Conrad spoke about two things:  First, what he deemed failed trade policy; Second, on what he called a "sham" process of approving trade agreements negoiated by the Executive Branch.

President Bush's Administration instituted a policy of trade negotiation whereby Congress is no longer allowed to debate and/or amend trade agreements as negotiated by the Executive.  This means that Senators cannot add amendments to a trade agreement.  Rather, the Senate must accept or reject the agreement AS IS.  Conrad said that this progress of Accept or Reject is a sham, a snare, and a delusion.

He also argued that these free trade agreements and associated trade policy is failing our country by running up trade deficits to record levels.  Goods are made in countries like Oman, where wages are cheap, and working conditions are characteristic of sweatshops while industries in our own nation cannot compete in the marketplace.  Money is flowing out of our country as a result of these globalist trade policies, the argument goes.

Indeed, he cited a newspaper article highlighting sweatshop conditions at factories in Jordan.  Conrad believes the Congress has been stripped of its traditional rights when it comes to trade agreements because the Administration does not need to accept any amendments Congress adds to an agreement.

Conrad himself added an amendment to the agreement during a "mock" markup of the agreement in the Senate Finance Committee.  The amendment contained language prohibiting working conditions reminiscent of sweatshop labor—language that would have protected laborers in Oman from sweatshop conditions.  That amendment was unanimously agreed to.  However, it does not appear in the version of the agreement which the Senate must accept or reject.

So, he said that Congress should exercise the only right it has when it comes to trade agreements and reject the agreement outright.