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Although he voted against recent trade legislation, U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, told members of the Atlanta Women in International Trade at a luncheon gathering at the Delta Flight Museum on July 27 that he remained a proponent of free trade as long as it is fair, as in “fair trade.”
The Republican congressman from Georgia’s 3rd District that stretches from Atlanta’s southern suburbs to Columbus was adamant in his opposition of the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), on grounds that it was passed by legislative gimmickry and reflected another example of executive power overreaching the authority which should belong to Congress.
TPA, also known as the “fast-track” authority, gives the president the power to present trade deals to Congress for an up-or-down vote without amendment or filibuster and has been promoted as necessary to secure the participation of other countries in trade negotiations that don’t want agreements picked apart once agreed to.
Mr. Westmoreland particularly objected to the legislative maneuvers used to propel the bill to the president’s desk as well as its inclusion of 150 guidelines that had to be considered. He specifically objected to the way that the House unbundled the fast-track authority bill from a Trade Adjustment Assistance bill, which provides for job training and support of workers who are displaced from their jobs. The House passed the fast-track bill on June 12 once the two were unbundled and then it was passed by the Senate as a single bill.
He said he was not opposed to the bill on grounds of a potential loss of national sovereignty or because of environmental or immigration concerns as cited by others opposed to it. But he added his concerns for Georgia’s textile and apparel and agricultural industries because of the upcoming Trans-Pacific Partnership and Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreements were still being negotiated on the terms that would apply to those sectors.
Harkening back to the U.S.’s founding fathers, he recalled that when Benjamin Franklin and others signed trade agreements these agreements were bilateral, had been written by the signatories themselves and that they used quill pens when signing the documents.
He contrasted the simplicity of those days with the large staffs and “bureaucratic boondoggles” that are part of the overly complex process today.
Mr. Westmoreland indicated that in his opinion international trade has become overly complex in general and went so far as to cite the problems a constituent of his had trying to enter the parts of animals he had shot in Africa because the different parts were not appropriately numbered or identified.
Despite many calls to his office pressing him to favor the TPA including representatives of large companies such as the agricultural machinery manufacturer Caterpillar, which has facilities in Bogart, LaGrange and Thomasville, he said that he resisted because he felt “the rules were rigged.”
Mr. Westmoreland could point to his past support of the Central American Free Trade agreement in 2005 and for the trade agreement with South Korea in 2011 to validate his claim of supporting free trade.
He also praised the efficiency of the operations of the Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia Inc. plant in West Point, adding that its operations provided a standard for U.S. companies to emulate.
Additionally, he said that Kia and other auto manufacturers should benefit from the deepening of the Port of Savannah and the development of a railroad to the Appalachian Regional Port, which is to open in 2018.
Without going into details, he quickly referred to a new railroad route, which Gov. Nathan Deal was about to announce. The railroad is to provide a direct 388-mile stretch from northwest Georgia to the port, providing a new gateway to the port for manufacturers in Georgia and surrounding states.
Mr. Westmoreland also cited his support for farmers in South Georgia who are exporting pecans, cotton and blueberries among other agricultural produce, underscoring his surprise that Georgia in just the past few years has become a leading exporter of blueberries in the country.
He remained guarded, however, about showing any indication about how he would vote on the upcoming Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP) or the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) that currently are being negotiated.
He said that his main concern at the moment about the T-TIP agreement is due to the number of countries involved in the negotiations with the U.S. — the 28 members of the European Union.
He did suggest a continuing concern with the Trans-Pacific Partnership among the 12 negotiating powers, which according to the administration would serve as a counterweight to Chinese influence in the region and link North America, Australia and New Zealand more closely on free trade principles with Japan and other key Asian nations.
While those supporting the agreement say that China would dominate trade in the Asia-Pacific region if the TPP is not adopted, Mr. Westmorland is more concerned about Asian countries competing in Central America on the “cut and sew” trade.
As a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Mr. Westmoreland serves as chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security Agency and Cybersecurity and on the Subcommittee on Central Intelligence Agency.
He said that he has become extremely suspicious of China through his intelligence activities to the point of accusing it of having copied Lockheed Martin’s F-35 and selling the copies on the world market at reduced prices.
“If someone gets our secrets, they join the market,” he said, adding that “You can do that with a state sponsored economy.”
Mr. Westmoreland added that cybersecurity is becoming an ever growing concern of his in view of the growing number of incidents.
“Unfortunately most Americans don’t understand the personal consequences these hacks can have,” he said. “But when it happens to us personally it is a totally different situation.”
During the month of August, he said that he would be focused primarily on the issue now that personal finances and email accounts have been attacked.
Even his office was hacked, he said, with a plagiarized email allegedly from himself asking his office to send $4,000 to a bank in Oklahoma. Consequently, his office was forced to shutdown its email and bank accounts and open new ones, he added.