Oct 29 2007
Edwards Releases New Trade Positions
On Saturday October 27th, John Edwards issued a call for more than adding labor and environmental standards to trade texts to make them fair.
Edwards called for deeper revisions to future trade agreements, including the elimination of anti-democratic provisions. Specifically, Edwards trade deals should not “establish expansive investor rights that actually create incentives to further relocate U.S. jobs overseas, by compensating corporations if our environmental, health or even local zoning laws allegedly undermine their expected profits.” He added that these provisions also “unfairly allow foreign corporations to challenge many of our laws.”
For more further text on Senator Edwards’ statement, and his remarks in announcing it, follow here:
Excerpts of Official Statement (Full Text Available at Candidate’s Website):
“Presidents from both parties have entered into trade agreements like NAFTA and the WTO promising that they would create new jobs, but instead we have lost millions of manufacturing jobs, seen wages stagnate, and run up larger and larger trade deficits. Meanwhile, Washington insiders have looked at every trade deal and asked one, and only one, question: is it good for corporate profits?”
“NAFTA was written by corporate interests and insiders in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, but workers have lost out, both American and Mexican. Under NAFTA, the U.S. has lost more than 1 million jobs, while average wages for Mexican manufacturing workers have fallen by 12 percent.
“• Congress should not pass further trade deals without first taking steps to address the stagnant wages and insecurity caused by globalization. Congress needs to adopt universal health care, reform the tax code, strengthen unions, and expand and renew trade adjustment assistance.
• The four trade deals which have been proposed establish expansive investor rights that actually create incentives to further relocate U.S. jobs overseas, by compensating corporations if our environmental, health or even local zoning laws allegedly undermine their expected profits. They also unfairly allow foreign corporations to challenge many of our laws.
• The proposed deals even limit how we can spend our own tax dollars by banning many Buy America policies.
Smart Trade & the Real Deal
The recently passed Peru Free Trade Agreement does not meet the Edwards standard to put American workers and communities first. Once again, the multinational corporations have taken advantage of Washington’s lobbyist-dominated system to the detriment of working families. Specific international labor standards were excluded (although the text of the agreement is 800 pages long). Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are supporting the Peru FTA despite knowing the detrimental consequences to American economic interests, to its labor force and to their families. Once again, the special interests wrote the rules and Americans are expected to pay the price.
There is a positive and progressive alternative in the comprehensive Smart Trade proposals advocated by John Edwards. His proposals include universal health care, pro-worker provisions, enforceable guarantees of compliance by trading partners, investment in displaced workers, supports for adversely affected communities and safety standards for imports. Edwards will not give in to pressure from corporate lobbyists seeking special privileges or hidden provisions that harm American workers. These privileges are illustrated by NAFTA’s Chapter 11 that enables corporations to justify profits over American sovereign rights to health and environmental protections. NAFTA did not include labor standards but did provide corporations with rights to challenge for their commercial interests outside U.S. judicial process in secret tribunals!
The Edwards standard of measurement for Smart Trade is direct and clear — American working families must benefit from the combined impact on jobs, wages and prices.
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