Wheels. Well begin on your phone calls makes u. S. Rade economy stronger or weaker. F you live in the pacific area 2027488001 and send us a tweet wj or join the conversation on facebook. Com cspan. Lines are open so start dialling in. Well get to your thoughts here in a second. Bit more about the world trade bridge. We were down in lore raid dough april talking to u. S. Customs and Border Protection and other images pturing the youre seeing on your screen now of the world trade tpwreupblg. Screen are on your heading southbound into mexico. They are weighed and then tolled and the money that they get from lore goes to the city of raid dough. The city owning this international bridge, the world bridge, the fourth in the city of lore raid dough and the tolls goes et from into the city to pay for a variety of things. Bit about this port, the number one inland port along the u. S. Mexico border. Crosses into and allows the goods to go to warehouses that are within five miles of our location. The goods are dropped off and there going to 60 other countries and many cities all over the United States. About 2. 8 million trucks cross and home to 2014 510 foreigner ins and trucking 105 u. S. Customs brokers. And it is a busy, busy port in our nation. It now arn more about and get perspective from those folks who are there on the ground and all of you get to ask your questions as well. First, what do you think about trade in general . Does it make the u. S. Economy stronger or weaker. Greg in virginia, good morning you, youre up first. I just wondered in the does it mean free trade or you tell me. Do you think the difference is between what do you mean trade . Well the question would make it meant free trade because just trade in general can have a broad meaning meaning a whole lot of different things. If you mean free trade, i think make the u. S. Eke money stronger. Products ter quality at a cheaper price and more choices, as long as the free trade has is not all one particular nation like japan or china or mexico. Idea is that its policy. Ced free trade we get in trouble when its all were not allowed same ort our goods in the way that the country imports to us and thats where the u. S. Trouble. Would you say that nafta, the orth American Free trade greement qualities as a good trade deal. Reporter i think overall in the 20, 30 years its positive. Id like to see a few more regulations moving companies mexico. But other than that on balance its been good. Well the north america Free Trade Agreement passed in 1994 about 22 years old. Baltimore, maryland, our location for the washington ournal referred to nafta highway. Good morning, walter. Go ahead. Caller good morning. And i think that the idea of one fallacies and give me a economic theory which is that the more you dump more more you have the people will want is unreal. You have to increase demand. What trade is about. Borders, on the grounds and countries you have to have a the d system and thats problem with trade in america. We think that our goods are so better that people dont want to buy our goods so much. Yes, but other things E Electronics and demand for has not been positive because people dont want them. The japanese make a better product. They made e air bags a better product. Weve seen the ebbs and flows trade but od to have we have to stop being so narrow we are so hink that great and everybody else is so bad. Inglewood, ohio, what do you think . Caller yes, my name is jose. Dont like blacks and im religion have no okay. Moving on. Does it make the economy or weaker. Caller well, i want to disagree with the premise. Good. Sly trade is but when we talk about free way really its sort of a of talking around globalization of the labor pool. As u. S. Workers is bad. It hurts us. Nd so, yes, its grade to be trading with all these Different Countries all over the world. What isnt great when you made trade agreements that open capitals access to labor and hire the o and cheapest labor all over the to theand creates a race bottom so thats bad to the u. S. A little more about this area we are today, the world trade bridge, when we were down and border ustoms protection took us in an helicopter and we were able to traffic thatsof happening on a daily basis. Screen ucks on your theyre heading northbound and there are different lanes for the trucks. Ou can be in a fast lane and that means the Border Protection a thorough background check you and qualify for a to ain pass that allows you travel quickly through radiation machine. Talk to an agent who looks at your manifest and sees where you have been and where been and from there you go on through a second inspection right there on your theres an agent there. Ng from there youre on your way to warehouses to drop off the goods. Let me tell you about the industry that happens right there. 90 of this truck traffic of t s consists. You have a driver picking up a it in mexico and taking over to the u. S. Side and dropping it off and picking up another load at warehouses right there on your screen and taking makeck to mexico. They may that trip, one truck driver back and that trip forth two times. That means the inspector at the seeing ade bridge are the same Truck Drivers over and throughout the day. Cooper gahead. Morning. Ood trade makes us better and the world better. Or any american that doesnt know that the United States country more than any in the world. Okay. All right. Matt in new york. Good morning. Its your turn. Thoughts. Ur you r my thought is that cant compete with cheap foreign prices. Me . You hear yeah, we can. E cant compete with cheap foreign prices. Caller yeah. Labor costs have gone way down were competing. Said it right. Youre going to make free trade, make free up the labor costs in the foreign countries. Money. M more were just bringing our economy down. Were not raising theirs up. Besides that, its all junk. Days hing you buy these only lasts about three years. May tag or kenmore the same l made by company and all junk. I had a washing machine i bought and it lasted ten years. Five since then. There is also southbound traffic and they weigh these and they are on their way to mexico where those goods are off, more parts, automobile parts, all different ypes of commercial goods that re passing over this border, this u. S. Mexican border in lore texas. Ough, bridge and 977ne feet long and 265 feet wide and commercial traffic only. Its known as bridge four in dough. Aid because there are three others here there are passengers, pedestrians and non commercial fplgts this isll largest inland port in texas. It is closed for business but it 8 00 a. M. Our time and then the trucking its way back be on and forth until 11 00 p. M. Idnight every day five days a week. Theyve got some hours on as rday and hours on sunday well. Laredo were down this toke into the flow and volume of trade there. What they told us. Throughout the laredo field in goods 6 billion imported in fiscal year 15. Over 3 million commercial conveyances. Port of entryredo alone, little over 2 million 115 billion in trade. That translates here where we at today, little over 6,000 trucks a day are coming through this lot. The ent gets here to compound and we risk assess it to be ms what needs examined and the shipment is released and even after the hipment is released our job hasnt ended. We still continue to look at the fact and r post entry review to make sure compliance with all u. S. Government rules and regulations. Enforce the laws and 40 other federal agencies. Field scal year Laredo Office 270 million in duty collected. Fees are a separate fund goes the master of the conveyance, the trucker will goes into the general kind of our general set the helps to payoff cost of our exams and otherwise our operations. Duties that from goes to the treasury. Goes to the treasury, thats correct. We are back live from laredo, texas. That was from an interview that we did during our trip in april crossing. Order by the way, this crossing that we are at this morning, the trade bridge represents over 60 of the truck traffic crossing the border between and mexico. Here is a map that was put together by the development foundation. The u. S. Economy stronger or weaker . It er i say it makes weaker. When bill clinton signed the nafta agreement, it was supposed mexico economy stronger. They were supposed to have a lot of Economic Growth this their countries. They havent had any growth as far as i can see that would be ble to have a Sustainable Living environment. So now all that is is that over the sending goods border and got people there on the for pennies dollar. And we over here we are all because nafta has taken way all of the jobs that we used to do and sent them over to mexico. Now mexico got all the and theyre not taking care of their economy. His is why the people are coming over here to live. Dollar they make like a a day or Something Like that. Is that correct . Not sure about that number. Coming up well show an that we did one of the Truck Drivers that works in the usiness that makes that trip back and forth into the United States several times a day. He talked about how much he makes. 300 to 400 a week. Works from 8 oclock in the at ing until 11 oclock night. Nd he said he lives comfortably. Whats your perspective caller i think it makes the stronger because one being a truck driver i picked up coming across t laredo border. And it produces jobs for the a variety of ives different produce and stuff and into the oming country. Can you talk about once you pick that up you pick up the at the warehouses in is your rom there, cargo inspected again . Out of about getting that area into the rest of the country. Area s inspected in that and shipped to the warehouses in he country of the u. S. Driving it like for across the country with these what kind the of training do you have to have . Basically just being an n the road truck driver the training you have is just like just being a truck driver, just having that your belt. Under its not really training that have to have to carry these roducts from your origin to destination other than the skills of professional truck driving. A you dont have to of certain certification or certain drivers license . Commercial drivers license cdl. Good morning. Caller thanks for taking my call. Ive been a truck driver for 30 years and i got 4 million miles just is like the top, about the most, and i have no pension. Retirement. I have no healthcare. Industry n the whole change from Ronald Reagan until dont speak they english everywhere you go, all the country. Its from the unions being it. Ed most of and thats really the biggest problem that we got. Good when it started, but people have taken advantage of it and theyre both guilty of getting chief labor. Eople who dont even speak english. The Truck Drivers you have now you cant speak english to them. Industry out of all of them. Unions o get these republicans out and then weed ut the democrats so hillary is the best. We spoke with bob cash who is of the texas ctor Fair Trade Coalition. Hes joining us in the last hour this morning. He told us when we talked to him in downtown laredo initial impact that nafta had on this country southern texas. The first thing that i read ppen at that point, about in the newspapers was mass layoff of particularly levi in textile factories, the industry of in the valley and south texas and then plants in north texas shut you go down and mexico. As the years went on, a number of plants shutting because of cheaper imports coming in. Ot because the jobs went overse overseas because of chinas allowing them in the world trade organization. Live in laredo, texas, talking about the trade and the trade and the flow of that happens at the world trade international bridge there at u. S. Mexico border in laredo, texas, and the goods many cities ing to throughout the United States and 60 Different Countries. Once it gets going here this later on youll see the trucks lining up to cross to go through. There are inspections to talk to u. S. Custom and Border Agents theyll be on their way. Youll see southbound traffic as ell happening here at this location this morning. Were asking all of you to kick this program this morning does trade make u. S. Economy stronger or weaker. Steve in robertsville, missouri, what do you think . Can be good, it but the problem is, the stuff junk. Y is you go to walmart or whatever and you buy something and it a month or ou for two. Getting a little bit better. Here are some things that are good about it but i think overall its busting our unions dont make no money and i think thats the biggest problem in our country hillary in to have there first. The only choice we got and aint gonna cut it. To us. Hes lying thats all i got. James what do you think, james . Caller hello . Good morning. I think r having me on restricting free trade keeps u. S. Is necessary. The economy. Lps that yond the system increases unemployment. Our country is in huge trouble. We dont win anymore. Need to restrict them. I problem is mr. Trump and think you should just be in problem. Nd solve this there is some news on trade, the New York Times business section. Trade tax supporters say its or never for the Transpacific Partnership. Politics that have pawned obituaries for obamas signature trade agreement could help win ratification in congress in a lame duck vote. The certainty that the successor abandon the agreement gives 2017 and that dynam dynamic. Its keeping hopes alive from business and pro trade and agriculture groups. Of the new e page york times about this that thousands he oh the socalled would impose new trade rules ncluding for labor, rights and standards. Tal that mexicos president recently sent congress that his would address americas complaints on t unions were talking trade this morning from our location live in texas, the number one inland port here in the country. Compares to aredo trade at other areas in the country. From the laredo foundation. Laredo is number three. Number one port being los angeles and the number two new york city. Aredo is the number one inland port. 0 of commercial trucking that crosses betweeni texas and mexio happens right here where we are this morning. David in colorado springs, good morning to you. What do you think about trade . Does it have on our economy . Caller well, just talking about laredo and apparently the folks ave for gotten about the oakland outport also los angeles and the ork outport traffic ort which runs from japan through the panama yards. The whole nine with me the bottom line is, something you said about a driver running back and forth across the border from until 11 oclock at night. S. Guys, usually the military folks are limited to 12 hours. You have a guy with crosses in back and forth. I dont know how much theyre mexican m if hes a driver, but that seems to be a out of our sight. He says he gets about 300 to week for that job. And hes traling back forth across this border at the World International bridge. Well keep taking your phone here and continue our live program this morning from focusing on trade hours. Out todays we are marking our 30th cspan two of senate floor coverage and paul cane for the washington has a it morning about nd he writes that p. O. W. Alled how he wore a bracelets with mc cains name ton it while the senator spent years in a vietnamese prison. We want to show you a little bit eres a little bit from our first day of coverage in the years ago. Mr. President i will not say that tv in the senate will anything. But i wish to note that we have on how do this and ow to make certain that we cut that shine on the head and if necessary how do the eyeshadow the whole thing is that hose of us unfortunate to have bags under the eyes may look a little bit better. President , i would hasten to add, i plan to do different. After we have that done of to se we may even want perhaps be certain that everything is done properly for camera here. We have even had advice that we do not do as come in with a lain old white shirt and a summer tie. Heaven forbid. I dont know whether my feel this would be a petter decorum for the senate the distinguished staffer nodding no, but perhaps be glad to io would make a judgment on what they attired here in the United States senate. Of gaveltogavel coverage of the senate and today were marking the anniversary tonight well have a special Program Featuring video from the enate floor going back to the first televised sessions. Tune in at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan and cspan. Org. Tulsa, oklahoma, were aking your calls as were coming to you live about trade , texas. O caller it makes the economy stronger because of the they should allow it before anden allowed the things that the americans and from that country things that they want from our country. I really do believe that it to allow blessing forward trade has andys been around for years years and years. Sometimes they had to be allow it to d not come in because of so many other issu issues that stopped it. That we o glad this have a president that has opened get some oft we can the things that we need and like that they things there. D take it from we do need trade. Than ever ronger before. Texas. Id in caller its at the bottom tip texas, not too far from laredo. Go ahead with your thoughts. You live close to the border. What impact has the volume of and increase in trade have community . Ur the way its going the quality of products is really low. I see here does it make the u. S. Now ger or weaker, right its pretty down. Ut it can actually make it stronger. How do you do that . You have to make sure that you products in ood order to export out. What happens is the clients see that. N order to theyre going to see what we have done for them ask then were going to say, we match what america did for us. So theyre going to begin to up heir Quality Control so we can maintain business partners. What else does that do . Opens up jobs now. Okay. Michelle in tennessee. What are your thoughts, michelle . Yes. Aller this free trade is wonderful. Differentught new and products. But what really concerns me. Rural area and our mexico andr area. Devastated our because we were a clothing made area. People lost jobs. Town next to us was facto