mr. speaker , i thank the gentleman from florida for yielding me this time , and i want to associate myself with his remarks , and i appreciate his leadership on this .  mr. speaker , i rise in opposition to the resolution calling for the u.s. withdrawal from the world trade organization .  the wto is the most important international organization that governs world trade .  decisions are made by the member countries .  the wto has 148 members and 31 observer governments , many of those , most of those are applicants for membership .  its members represent over 95 percent of world trade .  trade agreements administered by the wto cover a broad range of goods and services trade and apply to virtually all government practices that directly relate to trade ; for example , tariffs , subsidies , government procurement , and trade-related intellectual property rights .  u.s. membership and leadership in the world trade organization is essential .  it is definitely in our national and our political and our economic interests to continue to be a member .  our membership translates into real economic growth in this country , as the gentleman from florida very correctly said .  during the 10 years of u.s. participation in the wto , international trade and investment have been important forces driving our impressive economic growth .  over that period , trade accounted for one-quarter of all u.s. economic growth and supported an estimated 12 million jobs .  furthermore , trade promotes economic competition , which keeps inflation low .  now , let me take just one moment to rebut an all-too-often made allegation against u.s. membership in the wto , namely , that membership is a violation of u.s. sovereignty and the u.s. constitution .  wto dispute panels can not overturn or change u.s. federal , state , or local laws .  they have no authority to change a u.s. law or to require the united states or any state or local government to change its laws or decisions .  only the federal or state governments can change a federal or state law .  if a u.s. law is inconsistent with the wto , our trading partners may withdraw trade benefits of equivalent effect .  however , under trade agreement rules , the united states retains complete sovereignty in its decision of how to respond to any panel decision against it .  that was made abundantly clear the last several years as congress grappled with changes to our corporate tax structures for foreign sales corporations , or fsc , to accommodate commitments we have made to our trading partners .  only congress could make those changes to the law as we grapple , and we grappled , with that .  those who falsely portray the wto as a violation of u.s. sovereignty are ones who simply want an unfettered ability to preserve or create more protectionism .  i urge my colleagues to vote against this resolution and to continue the u.s. membership in the world trade organization .  