IAM Video Highlights TRADE Act

In a new IAM video that examines the devastating impact of flawed trade agreements, Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) discusses legislation that would give American lawmakers the long overdue opportunity to scrap faulty trade deals and negotiate replacement agreements.

The Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment (TRADE) Act, authored by Brown and Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME) is an opportunity to restore a level playing field to U.S. trade policy. “The TRADE Act will set a whole different direction,” said Brown. “We’ll go back and look at the old trade agreements, how are they working, what works what doesn’t work. We will then begin to build standards in future trade agreements.”

In addition to mandating a review of existing trade agreements, the TRADE Act includes specific references to International Labor Organization (ILO) standards and mechanisms for enforcing international labor standards.

“What the (current) trade agreements fundamentally have done is shifted power from democratic governments to corporations,” said Brown. “There’s simply too much incentive under our tax laws and under our trade policy for a company to leave Cleveland or leave Lima (Ohio) or leave Dayton (Ohio) and set up in Mexico or set up in China because of the tax policy and because of trade policy.”

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