Political Quotes

“The Bush administration negotiated three seriously flawed FTAs. The key flaw in the South Korea FTA was that it violated a fundamental principle of sound, overall trade policy: two-way trade. It locked in one-way trade for Korea in the automotive sector, the source of three-quarters of the American trade deficit with Korea. Last year, urged by congressional Democrats, the Obama administration negotiated specific provisions opening up the Korean market for automotive products made in America. These vital changes would not have happened if, as the Republicans continually insisted, the FTA had passed as originally negotiated. The Panama FTA as originally negotiated by the Bush administration failed to carry out another key provision of sound trade policy, incorporating international standards on worker rights. Congressional Democrats and the Obama administration successfully worked with the Panamanian Government to correct these flaws, and it also took the necessary concrete steps to change its role as a tax haven. The Colombia FTA, as originally negotiated, fell far short of addressing the longstanding concerns about the specific challenges in Colombia to worker rights and the persistence of violence and impunity. The Obama administration and the new Santos administration undertook the important steps of discussions on these issues, culminating in an action plan relating to labor rights. Unfortunately, there remains serious shortcomings in the plan's implementation.…”