Jon S. Corzine: “I will vote against the free-trade agreements, and I want to take a few minutes to explain why. Having spent many years…”

“I will vote against the free-trade agreements, and I want to take a few minutes to explain why. Having spent many years in the financial world, I understand the tremendous value of trade to America and to nations around the world. Free and open trade can enhance prosperity, create jobs, and increase opportunity. That is why I supported the North American Free Trade Agreement before I came to the Senate. And it is why I supported the free-trade agreement with Jordan. Measures like these held the promise of greater economic growth to the benefit of citizens in all countries involved and represented a growing movement toward freer trade around the globe. Yet in recent years, we have seen a serious deterioration of the trade situation here in the United States, and our Nation's trade deficit has grown dramatically. The current account deficit in the first quarter of this year increased to more than $136 billion, and many project that it will surpass $500 billion this year. That means that every day, we are being forced to borrow nearly $2 billion because of our trade imbalance. That is a serious problem, and it is simply unsustainable. Something is not right with our ability to export American goods and services, but particularly manufactured products. Beyond the enormity of the trade deficit, American businesses increasingly are shipping jobs overseas. Not just low-skilled jobs, but professional, highly skilled and well paid jobs.”