Trading in a New Direction

Nobody learned that lesson better than Michigan’s working families. Seven of the 20 cities in the U.S. with the highest unemployment are in Michigan.

Right now, the trade policies of the United States are miserably out of date and structured so the interests of working Americans are not looked after. Our nation’s current policies are dangerously destructive to the working men and women of this country, and can be felt around the world. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and every “free trade” clone that has followed have wreaked havoc in a number of ways. The flight of jobs from the United States and the undermining of the domestic economy, environmental standards and health policies are only the beginning.

The mission of the Teamsters Union is to protect the rights of working people. We always fight for what we believe in and we always will. We will fight to the bitter end to protect the interests of this country’s working families. We fought for years against the Republican-controlled Congress on a variety issues, including trade policy reform. We fought for our political allies across the country to get them elected during the midterm elections in November 2006—a battle that we won.

Our mission does not change, no matter who is in office. We are working with members of Congress on righting the wrongs of the past decade’s misguided trade policies. Right now, the Democratic leadership has stepped up to announce their opposition to the South Korea and Colombia Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). They also have decided to reject an extension of “Fast Track” presidential trade negotiating authority. The Teamsters Union strongly opposes every current “free” trade agreement in line for Congressional consideration—this includes the Peru, Panama, South Korea, and Colombia FTAs. There is something inherently wrong with trade agreements that weaken our economy and cost jobs, and that is exactly what each and every one of these FTAs will do.

Even with the Democratic majority standing up for change on these issues, I am concerned that Congress is still continuing down the dangerous path that leads to passage of trade agreements like the Peru and Panama FTA. Even with much-improved labor and environmental chapters, the agreement is modeled after NAFTA, a failure by any measure.

Before the Peru-Panama FTA “deal,” much of President Bush’s agenda was already in deep trouble. The administration’s quest for new blank check Fast Track authority is comical, since the Democratic Congress has vowed to restrain Bush’s abuses of power. The South Korea Free Trade Agreement, which was just signed, contains all of the problems of NAFTA. U.S. negotiators also did such a poor job on its commercial terms that it is opposed by many large corporations and is on life support.

The prospects for Bush’s proposed Free Trade Agreement with Colombia are dimmed with every new revelation of the Uribe government’s links to right wing death squads. Already, the deal faces nearly universal opposition given the assassination of more than 400 labor unionists during the Uribe regime.

The Teamsters Union stands ready to again take up the fight for fair trade agreements. It is not a pleasant task to fight against the Democratic leadership we worked so hard to put in office. However, the prospect of Congress passing more of the same ill-conceived trade agreements is unacceptable and we will do whatever it takes to protect the future of the middle class.

More than 3 million manufacturing jobs—one out of every six—have been lost during the NAFTA-World Trade Organization era. While American workers’ productivity has soared, real median wages remain flat at 1970s levels as the NAFTA-WTO globalization model subjects U.S. workers to a global labor arbitrage where the clearing price is the misery of $1-per-day wages. Meanwhile, our current trade model has resulted in a nearly $800 billion trade deficit which, at 6 percent of our national income, threatens U.S. and world economic stability. 

The entire system must be fixed. Whether it’s NAFTA, CAFTA or the proposed Peru and Panama free trade agreements, they must not be allowed to continue to erode our economy. It is the responsibility of this Congress to act in the best interest of its constituents.