Political Quotes

“on June 13 of this year, a bill was introduced that would give President Bush fast track authority essentially to extend the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, to all of Latin America. Supporters of fast track argue that the U.S. is being left behind. They tell us we need fast track to increase American exports and to create new jobs for American workers. Yet, our history of flawed trade agreements has led to a trade deficit with the rest of the world that has surged to $369 billion a year. The Department of Labor recently reported a very conservative estimate that NAFTA alone has been responsible for the loss of more than 300,000 jobs. Other estimates have shown NAFTA job losses at upwards of 1 million jobs. While our trade agreements go to great lengths to protect investors and to protect property rights, these agreements do not typically include enforceable provisions to protect workers, either in the United States or around the world. Yet, the Bush administration would employ the same corporatecentric process that has resulted in tried agreements like NAFTA.”