[CTC] House Will Take Up Ryan (D-OH) Bill on China Currency Manipulation

[Andrew Gussert]

Hi All,

Obama was in Maine over the weekend and we placed an op-ed on trade to
"welcome" him.
*Please click on the link  below to get the number of "views" up.*
THANKS!

Daphne

--
Daphne Loring
Maine Fair Trade Campaign
238 Goddard Rd.
Lewiston, ME 04240
(207) 777-6387
www.mainefairtrade.org


*http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/148966.html*<http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/148966.html>

Maine Needs Fair Trade Reform, Mr. President

*Bangor Daily News |* 7/16/2010

Mr. President, welcome to Maine. On behalf of working men and women, I
welcome you to our fine state. As you may know, Maine is not only revered
for its lobsters and picturesque coastline, its great North Woods and
extraordinary lakes and rivers, it is also known for its exemplary work
force. Often cited as one of the most productive work forces in the country,
Maine men and women are hardworking, loyal, dependable and efficient.

However, while we tout a first-rate work force, Maine families are
struggling — jobs are hemorrhaging from the state. Mr. President, you won’t
have to travel far from Mount Desert Island to see another, less bucolic
picture of Maine — one of shuttered mills and vacant Main Streets. Our
unemployment rate nears 9 percent. Month after month, the Department of
Labor certifies laid-off workers as eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance
— their jobs lost due to outsourcing or increased imports.

Over 30,000 manufacturing jobs have fled the state since the passage of the
North American Free Trade Agreement. You wouldn’t have to travel but 50
miles west to see the closed ZF Lemforder shop in Brewer. Lemforder recently
relocated to Mexico, costing 400 workers their jobs.

Unfair trade policy, skewed to benefit multinational corporations, and an
elite class of investors have led to off-shoring of jobs, massive layoffs, a
vast trade deficit, and unprecedented investor rights afforded to foreign
corporations.

Mr. President, you campaigned on trade reform. You called for renegotiation
of NAFTA and other trade deals, you pledged to reform the egregious
investment provisions and to incorporate enforceable labor provisions. We
ask you to follow through on your campaign promises.

Mr. President, U.S. trade policy is broken and no one knows this more than
Mainers. The lack of prudent global regulation of commerce and massive trade
and financial imbalances was a leading cause of our current economic crisis.
The only way we are going to recover from this crisis is to also address our
flawed trade policies.

Mr. President, trade reform does not equate to pushing more of the same
NAFTA-style trade deals through Congress. Mainers are gravely concerned with
your recent statements indicating movement to ratify the Bush negotiated
free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. Such action
will exacerbate the U.S. trade deficit, further compromise our already
weakening manufacturing base, and threaten a worse global crisis in the
future.

The Economic Policy Institute warns that the U.S. International Trade
Commission vastly underestimates the damage of a U.S.-Korea Free Trade
Agreement. EPI estimates a $16.7 billion trade deficit and a net loss of
nearly 160,000 jobs in the first seven years — clearly the last thing this
country needs as we seek to restore our economy and create jobs.

In addition, at a time when financial regulation is so desperately needed to
avoid another global meltdown, the Korea FTA incorporates the most extreme
financial deregulation of any FTA to date. The agreement commits its
signatory countries to refrain from limiting the size of financial
institutions, banning toxic derivatives or controlling destabilizing capital
flights and floods! While Wall-Street lobbyists may line up behind such
provisions, it spells disaster for the rest of us.

The three Bush hangover deals incorporate the worst provisions of NAFTA.
They include the extraordinary investment provisions that subject our
domestic environmental, zoning, health and other public interest laws to
challenge by foreign corporations. They lack enforceable labor standards or
adequate food and product safety provisions, and put bans on procurement
policies, such as many buy-American, sweat-free and renewable energy
policies.

Mr. President, Maine is a leader in fair trade reform. Maine workers,
farmers, small-business owners, legislators and the congressional delegation
have been calling to end the NAFTA nightmare and fix trade policy for years.
Maine’s own Rep. Mike Michaud, who represents the very district you’re in,
has put forward a blueprint for trade reform called the T.R.A.D.E. Act.
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