The TRADE Act
The TRADE Act was introduced by Rep. Mike Michaud and Sen. Sherrod Brown (OH) on June 4, 2008
Following a presidential primary season highlighting broad public concern about current trade and globalization policies, the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment (TRADE) Act introduced on June 4, 2008 by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine, pictured above at podium) reveals a way forward to a new trade and globalization agenda that could benefit more Americans.
The bill is supported by a broad array of labor, consumer, environmental, family farm and faith groups and more than 50 House and Senate original cosponsors, including Rep. Tom Allen from Maine's 1st district.
What does the bill do?
The TRADE Act requires a review of existing trade pacts, including NAFTA, the WTO and other major pacts, and sets forth what must and must not be included in future trade pacts. It also provides for the renegotiation of existing trade agreements and describes the key elements of a new trade negotiating and approval mechanism to replace Fast Track that would enhance Congress’ role in the formative aspects of agreements and promote future deals that could enjoy broad support among the American public.
The TRADE Act shifts the debate towards discussing a new trade and globalization model. It moves beyond repeatedly fighting against expansions of the old failed model and sets a marker for where discussion should start with a new Congress and president in 2009. One of our nation’s greatest challenges is to create new rules for globalization that ensure economic security and the creation of quality jobs here, while offering opportunities for sustainable development in poor countries. Such rules would counter rising income inequality and the threats our current policies pose to national security, our shared global environment, public health and safety, and democratic accountability.
We must take action now to shape the future debate. The TRADE Act recognizes the Democratic presidential candidates’ calls to renegotiate some pacts and brings Congress into this process.
Read more about the TRADE act at Global Trade Watch
One of the reasons this bill is so exciting is that it is because of all the work that we at MFTC have been doing over the past few years is finally resonating in D.C. These are the principles, ideas, and changes that we have been asking for, and now they have cumulated in a piece of landmark legislation that will serve as a guide moving forward in trade policy.
The TRADE ACT includes:
Section 2: Lists of which trade agreements must be reviewed and definitions of the labor and environmental standards all agreements must contain.
Section 3: Requirements for the Government Accountability Office to conduct a comprehensive review of existing major trade agreements by June 10, 2010, including economic outcomes in the U.S. and abroad and various security and social indicators. The TRADE Act also requires an analysis of how the current agreements measure up against the detailed description in the bill of what must and must not be included in future U.S. trade agreements.
Section 4: Labor, environment, food and product safety standards; national security exceptions; and trade remedy and federalism protections that must be included in all American trade pacts. Because NAFTA-model trade agreements extend far beyond traditional trade matters, this section also sets requirements with respect to public services, farm policy, investment, government procurement, and affordable medicines.
Section 5: Requirement for the president to submit renegotiation plans to remedy the gaps identified by the Comptroller General between our current pacts and the criteria for good agreements listed in section 4 prior to negotiating new agreements and prior to congressional consideration of pending agreements.
Section 6: Establishment of a committee comprised of the chairs and ranking members of each committee whose jurisdiction is implicated by today’s expansive “trade” agreements to review the president’s plan for renegotiations.
Section 7: A sense-of-the-Congress provision that sets out criteria for a new mechanism to replace the Fast Track negotiating process. To obtain agreements that benefit a wider array of interests, this new process includes Congress setting readiness criteria to select future negotiating partners; mandatory negotiating objectives based on the Section 4 criteria of what must be and must not be in future trade agreements; and the requirements that Congress must certify that the objectives were met, and then vote on an agreement before it can be signed. These criteria for a new trade negotiating mechanism to replace Fast Track have been supported in AFL-CIO, Change to Win and National Farmers Union resolutions.