The 3 Minute Guide to Talking Trade with Candidates
Most candidates, regrettably, try to “talk around” the global trade issue and evade addressing the tough questions. Some preparation will help you make it more difficult for the candidates to “dance” and more likely that they will make solid commitments to a pro-worker, pro-environment, pro-human rights position on the key trade issues.
Protections and their Enforcement
All the candidates will say that “labor and environmental” provisions should be included in trade agreements. That doesn’t explain the where and the how – which are critical.
NAFTA had labor and environmental “side agreements”. They are of virtually no value because they are not part of the text of NAFTA itself, nor are they enforceable. Labor and environmental provisions need to be in the actual text of the agreements themselves.
The issue of enforcement is crucial. Labor and environmental provisions which can’t be enforced don’t have any impact. Labor and environmental provisions should be enforced the same way the rest of a trade agreement is. Otherwise, trade agreements will include strong provisions for enforcing intellectual property and investment provisions, but have no provisions for enforcing labor and environmental protections.
New Trade Model
The current trade system does not benefit working families. Fast Track trade promotion authority has given the President and the business lobby enormous power in trade negotiations and has left Congress and other interested parties such as labor, consumer, and environmental groups mostly out of the process. This system has given us such bad bargains as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). NAFTA, CAFTA and the World Trade Organization (WTO) all promote a "race to the bottom" in the global economy by making it easier for companies to move to where wages are lower and environmental standards weaker. The result is greater profits for corporations and lower wages for workers. Fast Track authority has expired and should be replace with a new trade model.
New trade agreements cover not just manufacturing and agriculture, but also "services" which can include virtually every other part of the economy. Now white collar and information technology jobs are being outsourced, as well as manufacturing jobs. However, we could have trade agreements that raise wages and protect the environment, halting the "race to the bottom." Congress needs to adopt a new trade model that includes more voices in the negotiation process, protects and creates Americans, and that guarantees strong labor and environmental protections.
To summarize, you are asking the candidates:
- To commit to labor provisions in the actual text of the agreement, not in side agreements;
- To commit to enforcement provisions that are as strong for labor as for any other part of the agreement; and
- To commit to supporting a new trade model that involves more voices in the negotiation process, protects and creates Americans, and that guarantees strong labor and environmental protections.