Jon S. Corzine: “I rise to lend my support to Senator Torricelli's amendment which would require prospective trading partners to ensure…”

“I rise to lend my support to Senator Torricelli's amendment which would require prospective trading partners to ensure that their domestic laws provide adequate labor protections. The amendment calls on countries interested in trading with the United States to conform their labor protection regime to the labor standards of the International Labor Organization's Declaration. The amendment would further require that the worker rights protections including in the underlying legislation be subjected to the same dispute resolution mechanism as other areas. For far too long American businesses have been operating at a comparative disadvantage. Through years of improvements, the United States today provides its workers with a market basket of protections: the 40-hour workweek, the minimum wage, OSHA standards. But, as the business community has long pointed out, each of those protections comes with a cost as well as a benefit. It costs more to provide workers with a fair wage. It costs more to provide a safe workplace and allow workers to associate freely. It costs more to treat workers with dignity. It is a cost of doing business in a democratic society. Other countries take advantage of lax worker protections to attract manufacturing companies away from pro-worker regulatory regimes. Developing countries desperate for economic improvement are in a regulatory race to the bottom, putting downward pressure on international wages and working conditions.”