America In Solidarity has been asking for many years for members of Congress to support "Fair Trade" not just "Free Trade." Too often, trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA limit worker's and environmental rights and merely just result in corporate subsidies while undermining local markets and economies. The end result has been that large corporations suffer, while workers (often on both sides of the border) lose jobs as the race to the bottom decimates communities.
Over 70 members of Congress have so far signed on to the TRADE Act (HR 6180 and SB 3083). The TRADE Act maps out a better way to move goods and services across borders. This legislation marks out a blueprint for how we can fix existing agreements. It shifts the discussion towards better rules, setting out a policy marker for the future. It provides a roadmap for where we want to go, what a responsible agreement would look like, and the procedures needed to get us there.
The TRADE ACT would:
• Require the Government Accountability Office
to conduct a comprehensive review of existing trade agreements with an
emphasis on economic results, enforcement and compliance, and an
analysis of non-tariff provisions in trade agreements;
• Spell out
standards for labor and environmental protections, food and product
safety, national security exceptions, and remedies that must be
included in new trade pacts;
• Set requirements with respect to
public services, farm policy, investment, government procurement, and
affordable medicines that have been incorporated in trade agreements;
•
Require the president to submit renegotiation plans for current trade
pacts prior to negotiating new agreements and prior to congressional
consideration of pending agreements;
• Create a committee comprised
of the chairs and ranking members of each committee whose jurisdiction
is affected by trade agreements to review the president’s plan for
renegotiations; and
• Restore Congressional oversight of trade agreements.
Please contact your member of Congress at (202) 224-3121 and ask them to support the TRADE Act.
