00:00Yes, thank you and great idea, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for
00:04being here today. Last year, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council,
00:09the United States saw a 5.5 percent decline in international visitors. We
00:15were the only major economy to see any decline. In my home state of New
00:20Hampshire, tourism is the second largest industry both by revenue and it supports
00:2570,000 jobs. Canada has long been our largest share of foreign visitors, but
00:31last year we saw a 30 percent drop in Canadian tourism, largely due to the loss
00:36of trust and goodwill because of this administration's rhetoric around Canada.
00:42Secretary Letnik, last week you said about Canada's economic strategy and I quote,
00:47they suck. I believe your spokesperson then said this was about Canada's
00:54economy leeching off of the U.S. How does insulting our closest ally and
01:00neighbor help the businesses in my state of New Hampshire and states all
01:04across this country who are hurting because of the loss of Canadian
01:08business and tourism?
01:13Canada's economy leans on the 30, the incredible 30 trillion dollar economy of
01:20America. There's no doubt about that, Mr. Secretary, but insulting our closest ally
01:26and neighbor who provides a lot of business. We have a lot of businesses in
01:31New Hampshire, small businesses who work on both sides of the border. We have all
01:35those Canadian visitors who are not coming because of your comments and
01:40comments by the administration. How does that help our economy? It is outrageous
01:46that Canada will not put U.S. spirits on the shelf.
01:51It is insulting. It is. And disrespectful to America that they won't even... Absolutely. And my husband has an interest
01:59in a company that has American spirits and they won't do it because of the insults from this president and
02:08comments like yours. So I want to go on to another question.
02:13But can I have just one small comment, which is dairy is treated so badly and your state cares
02:18about dairy and we are trying desperately to get them to live to the deal that they have on USMCA
02:25and stop treating our dairy farmers so poorly and your state cares about that and we are fighting for that.
02:32We do, but we are not going to get agreement when we keep insulting people.
02:39When we have allies and partners, we should try and work with them, not insult them. And I find your
02:45rhetoric insulting to the people in my state who are working so hard to try and ensure that they can
02:52do business.
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