{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-lankford-urges-trump-administration-to-prioritize-job-creation-over-trade-deficits-in-nafta-renegotiations", "Senator Lankford Urges Trump Administration to Prioritize Job Creation Over Trade Deficits in NAFTA Renegotiations", "2017-11-15", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "OK", "James Lankford", "L000575", "www.lankford.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.15.17\n\t\t\t Senator Lankford Urges Trump Administration to Prioritize Job Creation Over Trade Deficits in NAFTA Renegotiations \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today led a letter to the Trump Administration with respect to US trade policy, including the ongoing renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Lankford was joined on the letter by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD). Specifically, the Senators urged the US Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, to refrain from the pursuit of a \u201csunset\u201d clause in new trade agreements, and also explained the lack of correlation between the US trade deficit and national employment figures.\u00a0Lankford also wrote about this topic in an August op-ed in the Washington Post entitled, The US trade deficit is a good thing.\r\nOf note, the Senators wrote, \u201cWe would like to highlight that, over the past decade, the year in which the US unemployment rate was at its highest is the same year that the US trade deficit was at its lowest. At the very least, there is a negligible correlation between the number of jobs in the U.S. economy and our nation\u2019s trade deficit.\u00a0At most, they appear at times to be inversely related. Thus, if the desired result of current trade agreement renegotiations is job growth, concern over a negative trade balance should not be part of those discussions.\u201d\r\nIn reaction to the letter, Oklahoma Cattlemen\u2019s Association Executive Vice President Michael Kelsey said, \u201cThe Oklahoma Cattlemen\u2019s Association appreciates Senator Lankford\u2019s strong commitment to free and fair trade. His highlighting reduction of excessive government red tape is spot on and should be the top priority of our trade agreements.\u201d\r\nOklahoma Farm Bureau President Rodd Moesel said, \u201cOklahoma farmers and ranchers depend on international agricultural markets to remain in business, as 95 percent of the world\u2019s consumers live outside of the United States. The North American Free Trade Agreement allowed Mexico to become a leading destination for Oklahoma\u2019s leading agriculture commodities \u2013 beef and wheat. The trade pact led to an increase of agricultural exports from $8.9 billion in 1993 to $38 billion in 2016, and allowed U.S. agriculture to maintain a positive trade balance with Mexico in 20 of the 23 years since NAFTA was created. Oklahoma Farm Bureau agrees with Sen. James Lankford: placing higher tariffs on imports will create additional trade barriers for Oklahoma farmers and ranchers and will harm our state\u2019s second leading industry. We believe the modernization of NAFTA must prioritize and defend the gains achieved in U.S. agricultural trade.\u201d\r\nOklahoma Grain and Feed Association\u00a0President and CEO Joe Neal Hampton\u00a0said, \u201cSenator Lankford\u2019s defense of free and fair trade should be applauded by Oklahomans and his colleagues in Congress alike. Oklahoma benefits greatly from open trade with countries around the world. The Oklahoma Agribusiness Retailers Association appreciates Lankford\u2019s commitment to opening up markets for Oklahoma agricultural exporters and ensuring our current trade agreements, like NAFTA, continue to benefit our state\u2019s workers, consumers, and businesses.\u201d\u00a0\r\nA PDF of the letter is available here, and the full text of the letter is below:\r\n\u00a0\r\nNovember 15, 2017\r\n\u00a0\r\nThe Honorable Robert Lighthizer\r\nOffice of the United States Trade Representative\r\n600 17th Street NW,\u00a0Washington, DC\r\n\u00a0\r\nDear Ambassador Lighthizer,\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 We appreciate your service to our nation as you work to improve the United States\u2019 trade relationships around the world.\u00a0 It is important now more than ever that the benefits of trade liberalization are championed by the world\u2019s most powerful and prosperous economy.\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 We commend the Trump Administration\u2019s enthusiasm to ensure that past trade agreements continue to promote U.S. interests.\u00a0 However, it should be clear that any need for a \u201csunset\u201d provision in trade agreements is unnecessary.\u00a0 Your very engagement in not only reviewing, but renegotiating, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) without any current sunset is evidence of every future U.S. administration\u2019s ability to review and renegotiate trade deals.\u00a0 As you know, any change in U.S. law needed to conform to any renegotiated deal cannot be implemented unilaterally, but must be approved by Congress.\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 With the beginning of the renewed NAFTA negotiations in August, it has appeared that U.S. trade negotiators, under your leadership, are prioritizing reducing imports relative to exports in an attempt to create jobs here at home.\u00a0 While we agree that creating jobs should be a priority, seeking to do so through enacting additional barriers to trade and taxes on imports should not be the focus of U.S. trade policy.\u00a0 This is especially true since tariffs burden lower-income families disproportionately. Instead, we should begin reducing excessive government red tape, which depresses workers\u2019 wages and constrains small business growth.\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0We would like to highlight that, over the past decade, the year in which the U.S. unemployment rate was at its highest is the same year that the U.S. trade deficit was at its lowest. At the very least, there is a negligible correlation between the number of jobs in the U.S. economy and our nation\u2019s trade deficit.\u00a0 At most, they appear at times to be inversely related.\u00a0 Thus, if the desired result of current trade agreement renegotiations is job growth, concern over a negative trade balance should not be part of those discussions.\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 However, there are real problems with the labor market that are not connected to U.S. trade policy that need to be addressed \u2013 namely, the inflexibility of our nation\u2019s labor market, which prevents us from reaping the full benefits of free and fair trade.\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Strong labor dynamism \u2013 the free movement of workers among different jobs, industries, and geographic locations \u2013 is a natural, healthy sign for industrialized, growing economies. However, U.S. labor dynamism has remained dangerously low for more than twenty years. This is a real problem, but it cannot be solved through trade policy alone.\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Instead, our nation should encourage flexibility within our labor supply such as reforming and simplifying the tax code; providing quality, affordable healthcare insurance options that do not overly burden the labor supply or demand; providing incentives to put people back to work; and reevaluating ineffective federal job training programs, to name just a few.\u00a0 These are the real solutions to the problems in our labor market.\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 There is much we can do to create a more dynamic and thriving workforce in this country that benefits American workers, businesses, and consumers. We hope that we can work together toward addressing real trade issues such as expanding markets for U.S. producers and businesses, eliminating foreign subsidies, and enforcing current trade laws.\u00a0 We look forward to working with you to this end in the coming months as NAFTA renegotiations continue.\u00a0 Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.\r\nSincerely,\r\nSenator James Lankford\r\nSenator Mike Enzi \r\nSenator John Thune\u00a0\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-lankford-urges-trump-administration-to-prioritize-job-creation-over-trade-deficits-in-nafta-renegotiations"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.9244488794356585, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}