Secretive authority could unleash “NAFTA on steroids”
FOR ALL THE gnashing of teeth over President Obama’s alleged “executive overreach,” a majority of Republicans (and some Democrats) may soon vote to give him a power that no president should wield — fast track trade authority. Simply put, fast track enables a president to negotiate trade deals with other nations and present the deals to Congress for an up or down vote. Congress cannot change any provision of the deals, no matter how flawed, no matter their cost in U.S. jobs, no matter their infringement on American sovereignty.
Fast track trade agreements are negotiated under a veil of secrecy. Ordinary citizens, organized labor, environmental groups and even Congress are blocked from contributing to — or even examining — the terms of the negotiations. The agreements are written largely by corporate lobbyists.
Introduced in the mid 1970s, fast track has been used by previous presidents to push through a slew of failed trade agreements that have cost American workers millions of manufacturing jobs. The North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and other fast-tracked deals have opened cheap foreign labor markets to American corporations and left in their wake a trail of closed U.S. factories and devastated families and communities.
“These ‘trade’ deals have little to do with reducing trade barriers . . . They are mostly about imposing a corporate-friendly regulatory structure that would never pass through the U.S. Congress or democratically elected bodies in other countries.”
— Dean Baker, CEPR cofounder
A report by Public Citizen (http://www.citizen.org/documents/NAFTAs-Broken-Promises.pdf) details the damage caused by NAFTA, such as massive job loss, decreased U.S. wages, growing income inequality, a surge in unsafe imports, a loss in family farms, ballooning trade deficits and challenges to national sovereignty.
Still, many political leaders, both Republican and Democrat, support the disproven theory that “free trade” benefits the national economy and brings opportunity to American workers.
TPP: A complex and dangerous trade proposal
THE PUSH BY the Obama administration to renew fast track trade authority is driven by the president’s goal of brokering a massive and complex deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) along with a similar deal with the European Union. As it stands, the TPP would include the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations: Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Chile, Peru, Japan, Mexico and Canada. China may also seek to join the trade deal.
Developing nations like Vietnam, where people toil for 58 cents an hour on average, would likely benefit from TPP at the cost of American jobs. One can imagine the allure such a cheap labor force would have for U.S. corporations. Nothing fuels offshoring of manufacturing jobs like low wages and weak labor and environmental laws.
The sheer scale of the TPP is alarming. Some call the deal “NAFTA on steroids.” Considering that NAFTA resulted in the loss of five million U.S. manufacturing jobs, the comparison is especially disturbing.
Many are concerned that typical trade considerations such as lifting tariffs on imported goods or opening up access to markets are not even the main focus of the TPP.
Says Dean Baker, a macro-economist and co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), “These ‘trade’ deals have little to do with reducing trade barriers, since these are already low, with few exceptions. They are mostly about imposing a corporate friendly regulatory structure that would never pass through the U.S. Congress or democratically elected bodies in other countries. But if people don't really know what is in these packages and actually can be convinced that they will lead to more jobs and higher wages, then it may be possible to jam them through Congress.”
Sister Simone Campbell, a Catholic nun and activist writing for The Hill argues, “The wellbeing of people, not profits, must be the goal of U.S. trade agreements. Given how today’s agreements will broadly impact the daily lives and livelihoods of all Americans — and tens of millions around the world — we cannot afford to have them guided by partisan politics or the narrow interests of large corporations.”
Congress must not cede its responsibilities for trade
ARTICLE 1, SECTION 8 of the Constitution specifically grants Congress the power to “regulate Commerce with foreign Nations.” By granting fast track authority, Congress is ceding this power to the executive branch. This is dangerous for the American people. It means the terms of international trade are no longer subject to democratic discussion, debate and amendment. It means that multinationals can influence the trade terms to their benefit, placing profit, power and control before the needs of U.S. workers and the welfare of the nation.
All Americans should be concerned whenever trade deals are negotiated behind closed doors; international trade affects all citizens. The secrecy of TPP negotiations is startling and worrisome. Fast track authority compounds the risk that negotiated trade provisions will go into effect without careful scrutiny and that they will benefit the wealthiest and most powerful at the expense of everyone else.
Congress must end the devastating cycle of job-killing free trade deals, and It must refuse to renew fast track trade authority — not just for the current administration but for all future presidents.
