Today is another milestone in the 53-year history of modern trade liberalization, beginning with the central leadership role of the United States in the creation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1947, and continuing with the eight rounds of global trade talks that have brought unprecedented prosperity to many parts of the world.
If my memory is correct, this agreement today will result in the first major piece of trade legislation signed into law, other than fast-track trade negotiating authority, since the Andean Trade Preference Act was signed into law by President Bush in 1991.
This bill keeps the momentum of trade liberalization alive at a time when this momentum is badly needed, on the eve of a vote in Congress to determine whether the United States will be able to take advantage of hard-won trade concessions that we negotiated with China. The United States has lead the world in trade liberalization since 1947. This bill will help sustain our global leadership in trade, one of our most important international obligations.
This bill is a win on many levels. It is clearly a win for Africa. Africa's nations will no longer be an after-thought in United States trade policy, but partners with America in building the essential economic foundations for prosperity, peace, and democratic self-determination.
It is a win for our neighbors to the South who participate in the Caribbean Basin Initiative. The CBI has worked exceptionally well since its inception as model trade legislation that provides mutual trade benefits to the United States and to the CBI countries. I believe this bill will help us forge an even stronger link between the Caribbean region and the United States. I hope in the future we will be able to enhance the CBI program so that Colombia, which is already an integral part of the regional economy of the Caribbean, will be able to participate as well.
This legislation is also a win for America's consumers and producers. We will see a new array of products in the marketplace, without threatening United States employment.
This is not a perfect bill. I am very disappointed that the final bill will not include legislation sponsored by Senator Conrad and myself to provide trade adjustment assistance for farmers. When the original trade adjustment assistance program was proposed by President Kennedy in 1962, he proposed to Congress that farmers as well as factory workers who are injured by import competition should benefit from trade adjustment assistance. Unfortunately for the generations of farmers hurt by import competition, the TAA program never included farmers the way President Kennedy intended. The legislation Senator Conrad and I proposed, and that was included in the Senate version, would have established a very modest effort to fix this 38-year old mistake. I can assure my colleagues, and especially the farmers excluded from this program, that we will try again.
But today I want to recognize this important achievement for what it is. A significant step forward. A victory for open markets, for trade liberalization, and for economic progress and freedom in Africa. I appreciate the effort and dedication of my colleagues in bringing this conference to a successful conclusion.