Next Up in Trade Agreements: Trans-Pacific Partnership
Celeste Drake in the AFL-CIO Legislative Department sends us this.
When the recent APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit convened in Honolulu, Hawaii, Nov. 8-14, the 21-member organization released the “Outline of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement” (TPP), a proposed pact that would include nine APEC members: the United States, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Peru, Chile, New Zealand and Australia.
The agreement is President Obama’s first opportunity to negotiate a brand-new trade agreement that’s not based on the model of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), one that would provide jobs and opportunities for working families rather than solely benefiting global corporations.
U.S. Now Lags China in Production; Newt Says Create Jobs in Mexico
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Two recent items on the economy struck home in the past few days. One, the United States no longer is the world’s major goods producer. Our nation has now been eclipsed by China, which ended the United States’ 110-year run as the largest goods producer.
The response by the U.S. Council on Competitiveness to this little-reported shift is as wrongheaded as it is dangerous. Said Deborah Wince-Smith, chief executive of the business lobby:
This shows the need for the U.S. to compete in the future not on the basis of commodity manufacturing but on innovation and new kinds of services that are driven by production industries.
Trade Deals Must Protect Everyone, Not Just Investors
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| Workers across the world, like these in South Korea, are opposed to trade deals that do not protect workers’ rights. |
Like the other provisions in U.S. trade agreements, the rules governing U.S. investment abroad and foreign investment in this country unfairly favor those with the capital while giving short shrift to workers and the environment.
Testifying before the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade last week, AFL-CIO Policy Director Thea Lee said the investment provisions in U.S. trade agreements are out of balance, protecting investors’ rights, but not requiring investors to take responsibility to protect workers’ rights and the environment.
U.S. investors invested $333 billion in other countries in 2007 and $318 billion in 2008, more than any other country. The United States also was the largest recipient of foreign investment with $238 billion invested in 2007 and $325 billion in 2008.
Trade Experts: Renegotiate NAFTA
Trade experts from throughout the Americas say U.S. trade policies must be completely revised and existing agreements renegotiated and agree with the Obama administration’s proposal to renegotiate part of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that allowed unsafe Mexican trucks to drive on U.S. highways.
In a forum hosted by the International Labor Rights Forum, the Global Policy Network and the Economic Policy Institute, trade union leaders from the United States, Mexico, Central America and Colombia said that existing and proposed trade agreements have failed to live up to their promise and have actually made things worse.
U.S., Canadian Union Federations Urge Cooperation in Talks Today
As President Obama meets with Canada’s leaders today for the first time to discuss a range of key bilateral and global issues, the heads of the United States and Canadian trade federations are urging both countries to:
- Work cooperatively to address the current global economic crisis.
- Review and renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
- Adopt a series of complementary policies necessary to build a strong, fair economy for workers in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
