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.
Indiana Working Families Share Economic Concerns with AFL-CIO President Sweeney
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Rita Dongas, communications coordinator for the Indiana State AFL-CIO, joined AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and workers in a roundtable session yesterday to discuss their concerns as we move toward the elections.
“It’s not like you can just find another job. There aren’t any around here,” said Kathleen South of IUE-CWA Local 919 at yesterday’s worker roundtable in Indianapolis. South, who recently lost her job after the Visteon plant she worked at for 22 years closed down in March, was one of eight recently displaced workers from across Indiana who shared their stories at the roundtable hosted by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and Indiana State AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Joe Breedlove.
South continued:
I’ll be OK for a few more months but I know that eventually, I’m going to lose the house.
