In February I had the pleasure of attending the Citizen’s Trade Commission annual state coalition meeting in Washington D.C. as part of the Washington Fair Trade Coalition. Besides a packed weekend of speakers and presentations regarding trade and surrounding issues, we met with staff members of the state’s Congressional delegation and shared WFTC’s concerns about trade.

Entering the weekend, I felt that our nation’s current (Clinton/Bush doctrine) on trade which promotes open borders and has little respect for workers, local control and the environment was fundamentally wrong. The current system of World Trade Organization/free trade agreements has produced little for working families (in all countries) but seems to benefit the multinational corporations quite well. Certainly it is not higher tariffs and closed borders, but it cannot continue to be the model of fta’s built in the NAFTA/CAFTA model. Basically, I know there is a problem, I just don’t know what the solution is. We need to do more than just scream “Fair Trade” at the top of our lungs.

The overriding theme of the weekend, between our legislative meetings and nearly two dozen speakers, was that not a lot is likely to happen with trade this year in light of the economic meltdown that has everyone’s attention and that with the new administration in place, there is a possibility of fundamental change in regard to our trade issues.

Legislative meetings

I sat in on meetings with staff members of Congress members Dicks, Inslee, and McDermott and Senator Murray. We also talked very briefly with Congressman Baird and presented the WFTC position papers to him. Because Washington State is one of a few that actually benefits from trade, reaching our congressional members that there are serious flaws in our trade strategies is a difficult position.

Some of the meetings felt like they were placating us, but I’m glad to have been there with the message of ‘“Fair Trade” and here is why’. The week before I was in a meeting Congressman Smith has with labor on an infrequent basis and he mentioned “fair trade” and if the former DLC Chair said that, there is progress being made.

For every meeting with a group like ours, there are probably a dozen with lobbyists from Microsoft and Boeing (along with substantial campaign contributions) rejecting our position. In my opinion, the WFTC needs to take very different steps with each of Washington’s delegation in regards to discussing this issue. We can possibly reach Congressman McDermott by showing the real harm our current trading policies have on families and children. We can reach Congressmen Smith, Baird and Inslee by perhaps showing that our country can no longer sustain economic prosperity by sending so much of our GNP to China. Frankly, we may just be wasting our time with Congressman Dicks (his office adorned with Boeing model planes) and Senator Cantwell (Microsoft’s darling) on this issue.

CTC Conference

The conference started with a reception at the Mott House on Capitol Hill where we were addressed by John Nichols, Washington correspondent for The Nation. Nichols is arguably one of the top journalists in the country and gave a passionate speech about what is wrong and why activists like us have to change the course.

The conference itself was two full days of speakers and presentations that included the likes of former trade representatives, congressional staff representatives, and the likes of AFL-CIO trade guru Thea Lee. Issues covered included issues like the upcoming T.R.A.D.E. Act, sweatshop campaigns, NAFTA and building a stronger state coalition.

Here are some of the items, issues and thoughts that struck me…

• When confronting a member of Congress who’s giving you the runaround about this (or any issue) ask “What legislation did you pass? Not just what did you support or sign onto.”
• Bob Cassidy, formerly of the USTR, pointed out a few interesting items including that China’s currency is undervalued by 40% and the rest of Asia’s currencies are pegged to the yuan which is not helping when our deficit to China doubles every five years. To read more of Cassidy’s ideas: http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/5274
• Yvette Pena Lopes of the Teamsters felt that NAFTA will eventually be renegotiated. “How that looks depends on us,” she said as she suggested that all future trade agreements need to “start over.”
• Congress is looking at every piece of legislation now with a “does it create jobs” lens.
• Check out http://ourworldisnotforsale.org/
• Sweatfree resolutions are great ways for state and local organizations to push legislation where they may have more clout. http://ourworldisnotforsale.org/
• Thea Lee gave some disturbing facts including that 70% of our non-oil deficit is to China and that they have over $2 trillion in American dollars saved up.
• The folks from the Maine Fair Trade Campaign are on the ball and have real impact on their elected officials. I think they could be a good role model for other state groups. http://www.mainefairtrade.org/
• I don’t think it’s said loud enough but there is a huge correlation with immigration problems and trade issues. NAFTA is the reason we have so many illegal immigrants in the United States.
• Everybody is hopeful of Obama. I’m not that confident he’ll be much better than Clinton on this issue. I have the feeling that if a similar conference was going on at the Hilton, but the room was full of free traders, the message would be that Obama is nothing to worry about. Perhaps I am just cynical.

For the most part I lived and breathed trade for four days. My greatest hope was that I’d have a better understanding, that a moment of clarity would present itself with how to address trade. Without a doubt, the system that is the WTO, NAFTA and free trade agreements has been harmful for many and benefited so, so few. As one speaker said “What good are labor rights without a mechanism for enforcing them?” And I do not see how in the case of China or much of the third world there are ways to enforce them when the corporations own (or severely influence) most of the lawmakers here, and abroad.

And yet, after an entire weekend, I’m not sure there is an easy answer—that black and white proof—of an alternative to the current system that I can take to an open-minded member of Congress other than some Bushism like “You’re either with us (workers, enviros) or against us” if they ask “What is the answer?”
One final observation and I asked this of a couple of speakers, was that after 15 years of NAFTA, (and now 10 of the WTO) I think there is enough evidence that it’s not working. And if we can agree on that, then we have a basis for explaining that the cookie-cutter model of those in the pipeline (specifically Korea, Panama and the Doha round of the WTO) are not going to improve. Perhaps this could be a first step in making trade fairer for all American workers.