[Cross-posted on Frank's Blog]
In 1992, Congress passed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). I opposed NAFTA, but many of my colleagues were won over by the promise of more jobs and new markets for American products. They were convinced that free trade would mean greater opportunities for American workers and the creation of a middle class in counties where previously there were none.
But over a decade and a myriad of free trade agreements later, we have come to see that the promises of free trade were hollow. Instead of a booming market, we have seen massive job losses and a skyrocketing trade deficit.
Free trade has hurt working American families. To many people, NAFTA made it difficult to distinguish the difference between Republican and Democratic values. We now have an opportunity to distinguish Democrats as the party who is fighting for working families. We as a party and as a nation have a moral obligation to pursue trade policies that improve the lives of workers both here and abroad.
President Bush and Congressional Republicans continue to be blind to the realities of free trade. Instead of working to improve our trade policy, President Bush has deemed the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) as the number one trade priority of his administration.
President Bush says that CAFTA will help our economy. But, thanks to NAFTA and other free trade agreements, 2.8 million manufacturing jobs have been lost and CAFTA stands to make American jobs our fastest growing export.
President Bush says that CAFTA will help improve working conditions in Central American countries, but the agreement doesn't include any worker protections. CAFTA is just another way for companies to exploit cheap labor and lax environmental laws overseas and ship the goods back to the United States without penalty. The truth is that people in CAFTA counties can't afford American products. Over 40 percent of workers in CAFTA countries make only $2 a day.
After coming to the realization that he doesn't have the votes to pass CAFTA, President Bush has started offering concessions in an attempt to buy support. But the sweetheart deals aren't working. Congress and the American people have begun to realize that trade agreements like CAFTA aren't the answer.
The real solution is to renegotiate CAFTA. Global commerce is a critical part of our foreign policy, but increased trade does not need to come at the expense of American jobs. By renegotiating CAFTA, we have the ability to ensure a balance between the needs of business, workers and the environment.
If we stop this current version of CAFTA, not only do we send a strong message to the president that Congress won't always rubber stamp his policies, we would have an opportunity to reevaluate and improve our trade policy.
For now, our nation stands at a cross roads on trade policy. Down one path we continue the failed free trade policies of NAFTA and other free trade agreements. Down the other is a new way of doing business abroad and an opportunity to reevaluate our trade policy. It's time we determine what works and finally revise trade policies that don't advance our nation's and the world's economic well being.
Not enough attention has been paid to this critical vote and I believe this is a key issue that Democrats must seize on. To start with, I've released talking points on CAFTA to help Democrats speak authoritatively on the issue. I also invite all of you to join my live blog discussion tonight June 30th 7pm to 8pm to discuss CAFTA, my new website, my campaign, and the state of the nation.