Arab-American Congressmen Meet with Banking and Finance Leaders, Jordan free trade, Lebanon on agenda

A press statement said that "Arab-American Congressmen Nick Rahall (D-WV) and John Sununu (R-NH) met with seventy banking and finance leaders from the Arab-American community at a luncheon hosted by the Arab Bankers Association of North America (ABANA) on June 22, 2001."

The statement added "Both congressmen emphasized current trade issues in their addresses, in particular the Jordan-U.S. Free Trade Agreement that may be taken up by the senate as a part of the proposed presidential 'fast-track' authority. "

Declaring his support for the possible agreement, Rahall stated: "Jordan has always been a friend and ally to the U.S. and I hope that we can take from this agreement and do it for other countries in the region, [such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia]. I hope that this effort will move us closer to working out arrangements with these countries so that they can have entry into the WTO."

Sununu also emphasized the significance of the agreement and the passage of a trade promotion program allowing the president to negotiate new trade pacts. He added that, while "some conservatives É may be concerned that the Jordan Free Trade Agreement carries with it [certain] requirements on environment and labor issues," he was comfortable with requirements that each of the signing parties implement and enforce appropriate domestic environmental and labor laws in their respective countries. He warned, however, against the potentially crippling economic effects of requiring a developing country to abide by U.S. environmental standards or U.S. labor laws, The statement said adding "Both congressmen touched upon the recent congressional vote that cut $625,000 in military aid to Lebanon and will terminate another $35 million in aid if Lebanon does not deploy troops to its southern border in the next six months. All six Arab-Americans representatives voted against the cut, and Rahall pointed out that the 216-210 vote may have been the closest vote on aid to the Middle East that Congress has ever seen."