Mike Levin: “we have a failed trade policy and the United States-Oman Free Trade Agreement, OFTA, implementation legislation the…”

“we have a failed trade policy and the United States-Oman Free Trade Agreement, OFTA, implementation legislation the Senate is being asked to consider today is a continuation of that failed trade policy. This failure is reflected in a trade deficit that reached a record $717 billion last year and in the loss of 2.8 million manufacturing jobs over the past 5 years. The OFTA implementing legislation fails to insist on basic internationally recognized labor standards, yet this agreement is being rushed through the Senate under fast-track procedures that only allow Members of Congress an up-or-down vote and no chance to amend or improve it one day after it was voted out of the Finance Committee and with no report. Although I support free and fair trade, as well as increasing our economic ties with Oman, I believe any trade agreement entered into by the United States should include commitments to international labor standards. Writing labor and environmental standards into trade agreements is an important way to ensure that free trade is fair trade. But unlike the 2001 Jordan Free Trade Agreement, the OFTA fails to include internationally recognized, core labor standards supported by most countries in the world. Those standards include the right to organize/ associate; the right to bargain collectively; a prohibition on child labor; a prohibition on discrimination in employment; and a prohibition on forced labor.…”