[CTC] NAFTA op-eds from Reps DeLauro & Conyers

Tue May 30 07:30:59 PDT 2017

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/international-affairs/334841-new-nafta-a-chance-to-shift-free-trade-model <http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/international-affairs/334841-new-nafta-a-chance-to-shift-free-trade-model>

The Hill: New NAFTA a chance to shift free-trade model
BY REP. ROSA DELAURO (D-CONN.), OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 05/24/17 10:15 AM EDT

Last week, the Trump administration submitted formal notice that they intend to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. I stood with House Democrats to demand a transparent process that puts hard-working, middle-class Americans before big, multinational corporations.

We called for the inclusion of civil society, labor and members of Congress in negotiations, and an end to the sublimation of our international laws by tribunals of corporate lawyers. We cannot move forward without these critical elements.

We have long been opposed to NAFTA’s damaging impact on American jobs with fair wages. In 1993, I opposed NAFTA when it came to the floor for a vote. We were under intense pressure from President Bill Clinton <http://thehill.com/people/bill-clinton>, who called Democrats who opposed NAFTA “thugs.” But we would not let anyone intimidate us into abandoning our commitment to working Americans.

NAFTA accelerated the race to the bottom — and as a result, labor on both sides of the Mexican-American border lost, while corporations reaped the benefits. In the United States, NAFTA displaced 850,000 American manufacturing jobs according to the Economic Policy Institute — and it has suppressed wages by throwing U.S. workers into unmitigated wage competition with low-income Mexican laborers.

Fair trade drove the agenda during the 2016 election in both parties. On the campaign trail, President Trump called NAFTA the worst deal “in the history of the world.” This administration has signaled their willingness to rewrite the agreement — but they must do so in a way that puts American workers first.

Bold, progressive NAFTA renegotiation could provide the opportunity to create a new trade model that delivers benefits to more Americans. NAFTA’s ongoing damage to good paying American jobs must end. A rewritten NAFTA must include strong, fully enforceable labor standards to decrease incentives to offshore American jobs. In part, that means raising Mexican wages over the meager average of $2.50 per hour — a rate that U.S. job creators cannot compete with.

If the administration is serious about rewriting NAFTA so that it works for middle-class Americans, they should end the special investor rules that make it easier to offshore good paying American jobs.

These same rules in NAFTA subject our domestic laws to tribunals of three corporate lawyers who can demand unlimited sums of taxpayer money, including for the loss of expected future profits. This is undemocratic and has dangerous repercussions. For example, last year, TransCanada, the company behind the Keystone XL pipeline, brought a suit under NAFTA for $15 billion in damages after the Obama administration rejected the pipeline.

President Trump cannot rely on wealthy corporate advisers to set the terms of this agreement.

Yet when it comes to including the voices of working people in the negotiation process, we have already seen the same mistakes from this administration that we have seen from past administrations.

Nearly the same corporate trade advisors that crafted the misguided Trans-Pacific Partnership have been consulted on NAFTA renegotiations — and they are using their position to write rules that shield pharmaceutical monopolies — making life-saving medications unaffordable.

Meanwhile, civil society, labor, environmental groups and most members of Congress have been left in the dark about the specific goals of a new NAFTA. This process requires a diversity of voices. And negotiations should be carried out in the light of day — with hearings, texts made after each negotiating round, and public comment periods. The American people deserve transparency in this process.

We must shift the paradigm of fair trade in this country. We must pursue fair trade that puts working Americans first and fosters inclusive growth through a transparent and inclusive process. Implementing a new model will not be easy — but with so much on the line, it is our obligation to put the American people first.

DeLauro represents Connecticut’s 3rd District and is ranking member of the Labor, Health, Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee.

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/335109-billionaires-posing-as-populists-wont-support-trade-deals <http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/335109-billionaires-posing-as-populists-wont-support-trade-deals>
The Hill: Billionaires posing as populists won’t support trade deals for working people
BY REP. JOHN CONYERS (D-MICH.), OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 05/25/17 11:10 AM EDT

Last week, President Trump’s administration notified Congress of his intent to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Act, better known as NAFTA.  As someone who fought against NAFTA’s passage and who has watched unfair competition with low-wage nations tear apart his district—count me among the unimpressed. This is likely to be just another trade deal written by billionaires for the benefit of billionaires.

Donald Trump <http://thehill.com/people/donald-trump> narrowly won my home state in 2016 on a simple promise: he was going to undo, or scrap the unfair trade deals that were hurting Michigan workers.  He promised this despite his past support for free trade, but regardless of his history, people believed he honestly opposed trade deals like NAFTA and the Trans Pacific Partnership.

Regardless of Trump’s sincerity, he appeared to give voice to the angst that Michigan workers rightfully feel about the impact of NAFTA over the past 20 years. Our workers are tired of competing against Mexican workers who make pennies on the dollar. Michiganders hate that our auto trade deficit—in our largest manufacturing industry—has tripled since NAFTA was passed to over $130 billion as of 2013.
And while NAFTA isn’t the only globalized trade force driving down American wages, Michiganders feel like it was the slippery slope that led so many manufacturers to pack up and leave.  Workers in Michigan feared that Hillary Clinton <http://thehill.com/people/hillary-clinton> would not be in their corner on trade. That was costly for her, ultimately proving fatal in the narrow loss she suffered in Michigan.

Decades of losses under NAFTA aren’t easy to fix. Our economy has become so intertwined with Mexico’s that we cannot simply end NAFTA—we have to reform it.  That requires work and that requires a new approach.  To succeed, we need real outsiders who represent working people to write our trade deals—not billionaires like Betsy DeVos and Wilbur Ross and Steven Mnuchin, who will always put Wall Street before Detroit.

Right now, President Trump is relying on donors, family and staff to tell him what a good deal looks like.  With the exception of his Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, who has a reputation as an independent on these matters, Trump’s people are the same ones who have fought for NAFTA and its successors to make it easier to offshore jobs, break up unions, and force workers to compete against people being paid a few dollars a day.

The reason I oppose these billionaire former CEOs writing our trade laws is simple: bargaining power.  If their workers in the United States want higher wages, a CEO can bargain them down by threatening to offshore their jobs.  If environmental agencies or activists want them to stop damaging the environment, the corporate executives call them job killers and threaten to move to a country with fewer regulations and a weaker civil society.

If we want to have fair trade, then we need to be able to enforce the restrictions that make trade fair. But that’s easier said than done.  Enforcing rules and regulations is hard at home and it only gets harder oversees. If Trump gets his way, and guts the American agencies who oversee foreign countries compliance with existing trade rules—it’s going to be nearly impossible.

So far, Trump’s done very little to encourage those who want a fair renegotiation of NAFTA.  After a campaign where he talked tough, he has done little as president to back it up.  He called China a currency manipulator repeatedly during the campaign, but now he says they are not—all while his son-in-law’s family business pitches deals to Chinese investors on their access to President Trump.

At this point in his struggling presidency, Donald Trump needs to do something to fulfill his populist promises and that isn’t unconstitutional, unwise and against American’s interests. Renegotiating NAFTA to protect American workers’ jobs—and workers abroad from exploitation—could be that act.  In order to do so, he needs to have labor unions, consumer advocates, and environmental and safety regulators leading—not advising, but leading—that effort. 

We need people who care deeply about the full implications of trade to be heard with this deal. What we don’t need is another trade deal written by big business for big business.  Unfortunately, looking at Trump’s Cabinet and the people who we know have access to him, another big business trade deal seems like exactly what he’s going to push. We must remain vigilant and prepared to hold his feet to the fire to ensure good jobs for Michigan families. 

Conyers represents Michigan’s 13th Distirct and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee. 

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