Russ Feingold: “I oppose this agreement. It is more of the same flawed trade model that has undermined the standards that our firms…”

“I oppose this agreement. It is more of the same flawed trade model that has undermined the standards that our firms operate under and has helped ship millions of jobs overseas. From inadequate protections for workers, the environment, and public health and safety, to lax rules of origin, this trade agreement continues the appalling trade policies of the last decade and more. We should be working to strengthen our ties with Bahrain and forge a trade agreement that is sustainable and that will enhance the welfare of consumers, businesses, and workers in both countries. This agreement will not do that. Tragically, the record of this trade model has been just the opposite. My own State of Wisconsin has been hit especially hard by this trade policy. Nor have our trading partners fared well under this flawed trade model. Eleven years of NAFTA have lowered living standards in Mexico, both for urban workers and in rural areas. As I have noted before, Professor Riordan Roett of Johns Hopkins has noted that at least 1.5 million Mexican farmers have lost their livelihoods under NAFTA. And while this agreement with Bahrain may not have the same devastating impact that NAFTA has had and that CAFTA will have, it is cut from the same cloth as those two trade agreements. Certainly neither the United States nor Bahrain is likely to benefit when the trade agreement's rules of origin provisions invite gaming.…”