Congressman Gregory W. Meeks Weighs In On The Impact On Us Trade Policy

(WASHINGTON, DC)–Congressman Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY) and his colleague, Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX), participated in a Congressional Dialogue Series seminar entitled: "Examining the Impact of U.S. Trade Policy." The event was well received with over two hundred prominent guests attending, including representatives from sixteen different embassies.

This event was organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a bipartisan think tank committed to providing impartial analysis and practical solutions to a wide range of global issues. The discussion was moderated by Grant Aldonas, who holds the William M. Scholl Chair in International Business at CSIS, and who previously had a
distinguished career in law, business, and international economic policy.

After the opening remarks, Mr. Aldonas applauded Congressman Meeks for successfully launching the congressional service caucus: "Frankly, as big as services are in our economy, it is an under served community in the political process, and I think it is a great policy process as a practical matter." The bulk of the seminar focused on why Americans are afraid of freer trade. Congressman Meeks attributed their fear to the news media—the "Lou Dobbs's of the world"—focusing on the displacement of jobs, and not on the real cause: "efficiency in technology." Rep. Meeks is convinced that
free trade, "is now lifting people out of poverty," but he also understands that the government must provide safety nets for individuals who, "may be temporarily displaced for a small period of time, whether it is for trade or any other reason."

To overcome his constituents fear of a freer trade economy, the Congressman works on getting minority and small businesses within his district to increase their competitiveness and expand their market to include foreign nations: this
creates a "real economic development tool" which helps the community to "stand on its own and not be completely dependent upon government to do anything and everything for it."

During the seminar, Congressman Meeks also expressed "grave concerns" with some of his colleagues, "who claim that they were elected using no-tradeagreements, so therefore they now cannot go back and show any semblance of
supporting any kind of trade agreement, irrespective of what the facts may be." He hopes to convince them to act in the best interest of the nation because trade, "should not be a partisan issue...It is too important for this country for too many reasons."