Congressman Larry Kissell, Bernie Hodges, chairman and chief executive officer of Wade Manufacturing Company of Wadesboro, and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk participated in Friday’s Trade Roundtable hosted by Congressman Kissell.
The meeting included a discussion regarding U.S. trade policy, its impact on the region and how that policy can be better guided in the future to help American businesses gain access to world markets.
"In recent years, trade agreements have not been good for our district," Kissell said. "I am not anti-trade; I just want world markets to be available to American products the way we allow other nations to sell their goods here. We must protect American jobs, American businesses and America's manufacturing base as a matter of economic stability and national security. I thank Ambassador Kirk for coming to the 8th District to talk about our nation's trade policy goals and listening to local people and their concerns about that trade policy."
During the Roundtable, Kirk answered questions from business leaders regarding Korean agricultural markets, Chinese currency, the steel industry and making other nations adhere to trade agreements.
"Made in America is still the most powerful brand in the world," Kirk said. "And we are working to open markets to American exports. The Congressman is right, we must make things here and sell them around the world, and we have to make our trading partners play by the rules. If we can get in there and have a level playing field, we will win."
In his first term, Congressman Kissell has become a national leader in the "Buy American" movement and has made protecting American manufacturing and American jobs a high priority. He has introduced legislation to bring all Department of Homeland Security textile procurement under the Berry Amendment to ensure goods are being produced in the United States with American materials. In June, he introduced the Textile Enforcement and Security Act, the first-ever textile specific customs enforcement legislation. This legislation cracks down on textile and apparel fraud. Fraudulent activities such as front companies posing as legitimate U.S. businesses, undervalued goods, illegal preference, and questionable free trade agreement claims have gotten increasingly worse, costing many thousands of U.S. jobs and many millions of dollars to legitimate American businesses.
While in the 8th District, Ambassador Kirk toured a farm in Cabarrus County and hosted a discussion with area farmers and agri-business leaders on agriculture trade policy. Kirk is the third Cabinet-level official to visit the 8th District with Congressman Kissell in the past year. In August of 2009, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack joined Kissell for a rural economic and education town hall on the campus of Richmond Community College in Hamlet.
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