My post on the WTO-legality of an import ban on nuclear waste generated a fair amount of discussion (including a reference to the movie Back to the Future!), so I thought I'd follow-up with this quote from Florida Rep. Cliff Stearns, who explains his opposition to the import ban as follows:
"I want American companies and American workers to be able to participate fully in the international nuclear renaissance. . . . This is an anti-jobs and anti-trade bill. It would simply ban Americans from the marketplace," he said in a speech.
"I do believe that if U.S. nuclear companies are to participate in the global nuclear services market and compete effectively with foreign-owned companies, they must simply be able to manage and dispose of the low-level waste incidental to their work and subject to NRC's already strict regulations and requirement. . . I'd like to create jobs. I hope we cannot erect new trade barriers that put our own employers and workers at a competitive disadvantage, which I think simply this bill would do."
