Congress is set to vote October 4 on three seriously-flawed free trade agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. Should the pending FTAs negotiated by the Bush administration pass, more than 159,000 middle-class jobs will be shipped overseas. With our country suffering from persistent high unemployment, we cannot afford more NAFTA-style trade agreements that
Read moreIn 1994, Congress introduced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as the solution for jobs expansion and prosperity for the American people. Seventeen years later, NAFTA has yet to live up to its promise. Costing Americans 682,900 in lost or displaced jobs, the trade deficit with Mexico stands at a mind-boggling $97.2 billion. As
Read moreThe Panama Free Trade Agreement is one of three pending Bush-negotiated free trade agreements (FTAs) lawmakers are now trying to ram through to final passage. But Congress must vote “No” on the bad trade deal. Panama is one of the world’s worst tax havens, allowing the rich and an estimated 400,000 corporations, including many U.S.
Read moreThe Colombia Free Trade Agreement is a betrayal of fundamental human rights. Last year, 51 trade unionists were slain in the streets of Colombia. Over 2,850 trade unionists were murdered in the last 25 years. And so far in 2011, 17 trade unionists have been killed. These atrocities, combined with Colombia’s negligent child labor enforcement
Read moreThe only standard that should be used to govern U.S. leaders’ decision to pass free trade agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Colombia and Panama is whether they are in the best interest of American workers and the U.S. economy, says Leo Hindery, Chairman of the Smart Globalization Initiative at the New America Foundation, in an
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