Arlington, Va. – Dave McCurdy, president of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA), today made the following statement following Senate passage of Trade Promotion Authority within the Andean Trade package:

“The passage of Trade Promotion Authority proves that free trade is much too important to be strangled by non-germane amendments, protectionist language or the stifling, partisan atmosphere pervading Washington D.C.,” McCurdy said. “We are glad the Senate realized the magnitude of TPA to the future success of U.S. businesses and our economy and voted in favor of giving this critical tool to our President.  I have to admit we weren’t sure we would get here.”

“However, we still have serious concerns about protectionist measures, such as the Craig-Dayton amendment, that have been added to TPA. Several countries with which we hope to negotiate future trade agreements, including Brazil, Chile and Singapore, have already said the Craig-Dayton language sends the wrong signal to the world and could jeopardize key agreements such as Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and the current round of World Trade Organization talks.

“We will work to have these types of provisions removed in Conference and are depending on bipartisan leadership of the Senate managers, as well as the House of Representatives and the Administration. The President deserves a less protectionist TPA bill – not one that undermines the entire principle of the measure.”

In 2001, more than one-third of the U.S. electronics industry’s output was exported overseas – over $200 billion in goods.  More than one-third of the 1.8 million employees who work for U.S. electronics companies depend on exports for their jobs.