[CTC_TRADE] Tilting at Chinese Windmills? Democratic Senators fight to strengthen 'Buy America'

[Andrew Gussert]

Fox has realized this message is resonating with the Tea Party Zealots . . .
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Democratic Lawmaker Leads Bipartisan Effort to Repeal NAFTA


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By Pat Summers - FOXNews.com 

A Democratic congressman from Mississippi introduced bipartisan legislation
Thursday that would provide for the withdrawal of the United States from the
North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.

Rep. Gene Taylor, who also serves on the House Armed Services Committee,
called the 29 percent loss of jobs in US manufacturing since 1993 a matter
of national defense and pointed to a number of companies who have moved
their production to Mexico as cause for concern.

The agreement was signed by the governments of the United States, Canada and
Mexico and implemented in 1994, and was designed to promote free trade
between the three North American countries.

Twenty-six members of Congress have already signed onto the plan to abandon
NAFTA, including Michigan Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak.

"The trade deficit with Mexico and Canada has quadrupled since NAFTA went
into effect," he said.

Indeed, lawmakers came armed with numbers to support their argument --
figures that showed the U.S. enjoyed a $1.7 billion dollar trade surplus
with Mexico in 1993, before NAFTA, compared to a $47.5 billion dollar trade
deficit with Mexico in 2009.

President Obama criticized NAFTA during the 2008 presidential election,
insisting, "trade policies are not sustainable if they favor the few, rather
than the many." 

But the administration has so far been reluctant to follow through on any
threats to withdraw from the agreement.

Asked why the legislation was introduced now after similar efforts have
failed in the past, Taylor said, "At a time when 10 to 12 percent of the
American people are unemployed, I think Congress has an obligation to put
people back to work."

 

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