Congressman Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, launched two public meetings on Saturday with his District 21 constituents in Austin. Smith defended the free trade bills that his Austin-area constituents asserted would erode American jobs.
The Central American Free Trade Agreement, passed in late July by the U.S. House Representatives, aims to eliminate trade barriers such as tariffs between the five Central American countries and the United States. The bill is similar to the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, launched by Canada, the United States and Mexico. Both bills raised worries that the highly regulated free trade would erode American jobs and oppress U.S. business. Some, like the Louisiana sugar farmers, worry that the Central American region would be able to ship more sugar to the U.S. market and thus depress domestic prices.
"True free trade is a volunteering between a willing buyer and a willing seller. If it's regulated, there's no free trade," said Kelly Taylor, a local resident at the public meeting.
Smith asserted that the bills would create American exports to Central America countries, bringing more American jobs.
In addition to the free trade bills, Smith asked for support of the Patent-Reform Act he is working on this fall. He said the bill would reform certain patent practices that disrupt the operations of high-tech companies and other businesses. It will eliminate legal battles from the current system that rewards lawsuit abuses over creativity.
"You have to create those ideas in order to produce those ideas, in order to market those ideas, in order to create jobs and in order to spur the economy," said Smith.
Smith said he and other interest groups will hold a public hearing this Thursday to decide which direction the bill should go.
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