SEARCH
Edwards: Time for a President Who Puts People First in Trade Deals |
|
Presidential candidate John Edwards said today the nation’s trade policies promoted in the past by both political parties have devastated communities across the country. He then proposed policy changes to ensure that American workers benefit from trade.
Edwards told a crowd in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the policies of President Bush have devastated towns and communities all across America, but
this is not just his doing. For far too long, presidents from both parties have entered into trade agreements, agreements like NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), promising that they would create millions of new jobs and enrich communities. Instead, too many of these agreements have cost jobs and devastated towns and communities across this country.
While NAFTA was negotiated mainly during the administration of the first President Bush, it was President Bill Clinton who pushed it through Congress in 1993 against the strong, vocal opposition of the AFL-CIO union movement.
The current Bush administration has used NAFTA as the model to write a series of flawed trade agreements. According to a study by the Economic Policy Institute, NAFTA failed workers in Mexico, Canada and the United States. In each nation, while worker productivity grew, wages remained stagnant or dropped and the wealth of those at the top increased significantly. More than 1 million jobs that would have been created were lost in the United States as a result of the deal, EPI says.
Saying “it’s time to have a president that always puts the interests of the American people first,” Edwards outlined his own trade policy, which he said would:
- Require pro-worker provisions in new deals;
- Hold trade partners to their commitments;
- Invest more in dislocated workers and communities; and
- Ensure that imports are safe.
Edwards and the other Democratic presidential candidates will appear tomorrow at the AFL-CIO Presidential Candidates Forum before an expected crowd of 15,000 union members at Soldier Field in Chicago. After the forum, the AFL-CIO Executive Council will consider the next steps in the presidential endorsement process.
The 90-minute forum will be carried live on MSNBC television and XM Radio channel 130 from 7 p.m. EDT (6 p.m. CDT). MSNBC’s “Countdown” will continue broadcasting from the forum until 8 p.m. EDT. If you miss it, XM’s channel 130 will rebroadcast the debate for 24 hours following its conclusion.
4 Comments
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
This is a switch to find a president who is interested in the people who elected him instead of selling out to Big Money interests.
Open trade agreement with Mexico and China will always cause pain and suffering for US workers! How can an advanced nation like the US can compete against nations with substandard labor and environmental laws. Furthermore, Mexican and Chinese manufactured goods are nothing but low-quality junk dumped in this country. The USA was, at one time, the foremost high-quality manufacturing nation in the world; today, driven by competition from China and Mexico, the US manufacturing quality just hovers a little bit above China.
Congress and the White House should not continue to trade with China because this country meets certain labor and environmental standards in the 21st Century. On the other hand, we should continue to trade with the E.U., Japan, Malaysia, etc. which have met, not only the labor and environmental standards, but the high quality expected from US consumers.
Finally, for the US to trade with China is like for Paris Hilton trading her lifestyle of the rich and famous for the life of a street bump. Such odd relationship will never work.
When it came time to Vote Obama and Clinton voted for the Oman trade treaty even after the slave labor and sweat shop provisions were stripped out. They put up our infrastrcuture up for sale, ports, water supply, electric grid. This was the first trade agreement to do this. There were no labor standards. Oman did not follow any ILO standards. Now that they are running for Presidential office they want us to believe that they support labor and enviromental standards in trade treaties. Yeah and I have a bridge for sale.
John Edwards talks about Union everywhere he goes. He makes sense about why government policies must be changed to benefit American workers and American families. I don’t think most people understand how poor trade policies can hurt ALL Americans. Edwards explains it in a way that makes people want to support making changes. Edwards is changing the way people think of Unions. He is showing people that strong Unions make strong families and strong communities. A strong and prosperous country!
I think it is a good thing that he saw what happened to the people in the textile mills in my state of North Carolina. He understands the issues in his heart. This is the difference that makes him the candidate who will make his trade policies a reality after he is elected. I am tired of just hearing politicians talk. I want action. John Edwards is the man who finally do something.