Presidential Candidates on Trade

Posted on May 14, 2008 by CTC

For Immediate Release
May 14, 2008

Presidential Candidates Get Specific on Trade
Senators Clinton and Obama Detail Their Views for the Oregon Fair Trade Campaign
PORTLAND, OR — Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama detailed their views on trade policy in questionnaire responses released today by the Oregon Fair Trade Campaign. According to their responses, both believe that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has done more to hurt than to help the U.S. economy, and that United States needs to change the way it conducts international trade. The Democratic candidates both voiced support for renegotiating NAFTA and expressed opinions on the different provisions of existing trade pacts.

“The unprecedented amount of attention presidential candidates are devoting to trade policy reflects the broad public perception that existing trade agreements are not benefiting ordinary Americans,” said Arthur Stamoulis, director of the Oregon Fair Trade Campaign. “The increased focus on trade in the current election has shifted the political debate from whether past trade policies were sound to what new policy changes are required.”

In addition to voicing support for new labor and environmental standards in trade agreements, both Senators Clinton and Obama expressed support for:

  • Eliminating corporate tax breaks that act as an incentive for offshoring U.S. jobs;
  • Eliminating trade provisions that grant foreign investors greater rights than U.S. citizens;
  • Insisting that new trade agreements require imported products to meet U.S. safety standards; and
  • Allowing developing countries to protect themselves from agricultural dumping.

Senator Obama also expressed support for renegotiating existing trade agreements to allow for “Buy America” and “Buy Local” procurement policies, while Senator Clinton expressed support for prioritizing American global warming policies over existing trade agreement obligations.

National polling results released May 1 by the Pew Research Center found, “There is now broad agreement that free trade negatively affects wages, jobs and economic growth in America. By greater than six-to-one, the public says free trade agreements result in job losses rather than in new jobs.” More so, a greater majority of independent voters had a negative view of the impact of free trade than registered Democrats.

“The fact that so many independent voters are unhappy with the direction of U.S. trade policy suggests that trade will continue to be a major election issue through November,” said Stamoulis.

Senator John McCain refused to respond to the questionnaire. Congressman Ron Paul failed to answer the specific questions posed in the questionnaire, but did provide a statement available on the Oregon Fair Trade Campaign’s website. Dr. Paul’s statement and the full questionnaire responses of Senators Clinton and Obama are available online at: www.citizenstrade.org/ctc/oregon/

The Oregon Fair Trade Campaign is a statewide coalition of more than twenty labor, environmental and human rights organizations that advocates for trade policies that prioritize quality jobs in communities across Oregon; create markets for Oregon products by raising living standards in neighboring countries; enforce consistent standards for labor and the environment across borders; and allow local producers to compete on a level playing field.

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Summary of Presidential Candidates’ Views on Trade (PDF)
Hillary Clinton’s Completed Questionnaire (PDF)
Barack Obama’s Completed Questionnaire (PDF)
Ron Paul’s Response (PDF)

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Rep. Hooley Criticized on Colombia FTA

Posted on May 7, 2008 by CTC

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Rep. Hooley Criticized for Indecision on Human Rights and Oregon Jobs
Human Rights and Labor Advocates Urge Congresswoman to Oppose the Colombia Free Trade Agreement

West Linn, Ore. — Human rights and labor advocates rallied outside of Representative Darlene Hooley’s West Linn office today, criticizing the sixth-term Congresswoman’s failure to take a position on the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which they say will increase human rights abuses and cost Oregon workers their jobs. They urged the Congresswoman to join Oregon’s other House Democrats in opposing the trade agreement.

“In Colombia, people are routinely murdered for speaking out in favor of better working conditions. Trade between nations cannot be ‘free’ when working people in one country are denied their basic freedoms of speech and assembly,” said Arthur Stamoulis, director of the Oregon Fair Trade Campaign, a statewide coalition of labor, environmental and human rights organizations. “This is a question of basic human rights, and Congresswoman Hooley’s indecision on the matter is highly offensive.”

Colombia is by far the deadliest country in the world in which to be a union member. More than 2,300 unionists have been killed in Colombia since 1991, and the rate of impunity for the murder of trade unionists remains around 97%. The proposed trade agreement would, among other things, eliminate most tariffs between the two nations.
“Under the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, Oregonians would be competing for jobs with people who are literally forced to accept sweatshop working conditions under the threat of death. That’s a losing situation for working people in both countries,” said Gaylan Prescott of the United Steelworkers. “Opposing this should be a no brainer. I don’t understand Congresswoman Hooley’s indecision.”

“Passage of this trade deal would likely result in new, sweatshop-made goods from Colombia entering the United States, but it would also result in U.S. subsidized grains flooding the Colombian market. That would force millions of small-scale Colombian farmers out of work, greatly expanding drug trafficking and armed conflict in that country,” said Beth Poteet, director of Witness for Peace Northwest. “The Colombia Free Trade Agreement will only exacerbate the human rights catastrophe currently taking place in Colombia. Congresswoman Hooley should oppose it.”

The Colombia Free Trade Agreement emerged in April as President Bush’s top economic priority. The House of Representatives quickly passed a rule change that blocked the pact from being forced to the floor under “Fast Track” rules, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has since repeatedly stated that she is willing to negotiate with the Bush administration to allow a vote.

Oregon Congressmen Earl Blumenauer, David Wu and Peter DeFazio have all publicly announced their opposition to the pact, as have presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, as well as Senate candidates Jeff Merkley and Steve Novick.
An April 25 briefing document by House Ways and Means Committee staff titled “Colombia: A Climate that Suppresses the Free Exercise of Basic Labor Rights,” concluded that:

  • Murders, threats and intimidation of workers continue, denying them their basic labor rights.
  • The Government of Colombia (GOC) is still not making a serious, effective effort to find and punish the perpetrators of this violence.
  • Paramilitaries — primary perpetrators of violence against workers — continue to operate in Colombia.
  • The Colombian legal regime inhibits the exercise of basic workers’ rights.

“Does Representative Hooley really want her last act in Congress to be siding with the Bush administration on an unpopular trade deal that costs Oregonians jobs and rewards human rights violators? If she cares about Oregon’s working families, human rights or her legacy, she’ll publicly denounce this thing,” said Daniel Bonham of Carpenter’s Local 1065 in Salem.

For more information on the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, visit: https://www.citizenstrade.org/ctc/oregon/orftc-campaigns/colombia-free-trade-agreement/

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No more NAFTAs. No more CAFTAs.

Posted on April 23, 2006 by CTC

Oregonians who lost jobs due to free trade deliver message to
Rep. Greg Walden ‘s office in Bend

May 11, Bend.

The KorPine plywood mill in Bend, a division of Weyerhauser Industries. When KorPine closed its doors in 2002, the U.S. Department of Labor certified the KorPine closure was directly related to international free trade agreements like North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

KorPine is not alone. Central Oregon has lost at least 1303 job directly attributable to free trade agreements. Oregon, as a whole, has lost upwards of 50,000 jobs since NAFTA took affect. To make matters worse, this past July, Rep. Walden voted for a controversial new NAFTA-style trade agreement known as CAFTA, expanding free trade to Central America.

This is not about obscure policy or statistics; these policies are about people’s livelihoods, families and communities. That sentiment is what the Bend residents wanted to express with their letter.

Roger Hanson delivered the letter. While sitting with Walden’s staff in Bend Roger asked, “Why does Walden keep voting to outsourcing the industry of Central Oregon and when is he going to start standing up for the working people of his district?”

There was no decent answer to this question from Walden’s staff member, only evasive thoughts on the availability of Oregon’s natural resources.

(See below for a copy of the letter Roger delivered.)

April 2006

Open Letter to the Oregon Congressional Delegation:

When it comes to foreign competition and trade, it’s no secret that Oregon is losing its best paying jobs to places like Mexico and China. After ten years of job-loss and outsourcing under free trade agreements like NAFTA, we can no longer pretend that our trade policies are working. We need elected leaders who can chart a course for trade policies that work for Oregon.

Rep. Walden and Senators Wyden and Smith all voted to expand NAFTA to six more countries last year. We cannot afford to keep going down that path.

When Bend’s KorPine closed, 170 families lost their income. When JR Simplot closed in Hermiston, 620 jobs moved to Canada. When Nyssa, Oregon lost 475 jobs at the Amalgamated Sugar Processing Plant, property values plummeted. Those are just three of the hundreds of plant closures due to free trade.

Back in 1993, NAFTA promised new jobs in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. In Oregon, we’ve lost more than 40,000 jobs due to outsourcing and foreign competition in the last ten years. We are losing the jobs that pay $15-$22/hour and replacing them with Wal-Mart and Starbucks jobs at minimum wage.

Where are the jobs that are created by free trade? Not in high tech where outsourcing is catching on like wild fire. Not in call centers. Retraining for other jobs only works when there are other jobs to train for. Retraining alone is a band-aid – no a solution to bad trade policies.

If our elected leaders like Rep. Walden and Senators Wyen/Smith did their best thinking on trade policy in 1993, it’s time for them to think again. No more NAFTAs. No more CAFTAs.

We need consistent labor and health standards across borders whether it’s minimum wage or pesticide use. Instead of going to countries for their cheap labor, we need trade agreements with countries where people can actually afford to buy the top quality products we make in Oregon. But most of all, we need vision and leadership from the people who are elected to represent us. Who will step up to the plate?

This letter is signed by the following Oregonians whose jobs where lost when Bend’s KorPine plant closed due to free trade:

Bill Hedger, Roger Hanson, Brian Hanson, David Ipock,
Evelyn Marshall, Oakley Taylor,Chuck Desully, Jeffrey Stormont,
Clayton Forney, John Bartey, Taddy Gogenola

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