Pro-Trade Advocates Stress Need For Bipartisan Support

By Learned Foote- Talk Radio News Service

Advocates of free trade argued for reestablishing a bipartisan consensus in favor of open markets during a briefing on Capitol Hill. The panel included Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX), founder of the Congressional Pro-Trade Caucus, and Daniel J. Ikenson, Associate Director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute. 

"The bipartisan pro-trade consensus which existed after World War II collapsed during the Bush administration," said Ikenson. He said that Democratic support of free trade began to decline in the 1990s. Ikenson cited the political allegiance between the Democrats and advocates for labor and the environment as one influential factor in this trend, but also said that Republican efforts to push through the pro-trade agenda without involving the Democrats sharpened the partisan divide during the Bush years.

Rep. Cuellar argued that both parties should work together to form a consensus. "You have to do it in a bipartisan way, and you got to include the minority from the beginning," he said. "For the Democratic Party, it would be a mistake to turn our backs to trade."  

Ikenson noted that Americans now view trade agreements with increasing disapproval. "America's souring on trade over the past few years is the product of a top-down process," he said. He argued that public opinion is influenced by false myths about free trade, which discount free trade's potential to engender wealth creation and peaceful foreign policy. 

Both Cuellar and Ikenson said that they believed President Obama would sway public opinion by advancing a pro-trade agenda. Cuellar sad that he was worried by some of Obama's campaign rhetoric, which included harsh criticisms of the North American Free Trade Agreement, but has been impressed by Obama's cabinet appointments, including Ron Kirk as United States Trade Representative. "I feel very, very good about President Obama," said Cuellar. 

With health-care reform and global warming bills coming up in Congress, Cuellar said that trade agreements may be put on hold for the summer, in order to avoid splitting the Democratic caucus. He said that he hopes trade agreements will be established with Panama and Colombia before the year is over.

Latin American ambassadors discuss benefits of free trade

Several ambassadors from Latin American Countries held a discussion at the Heritage Foundation to discuss the advancement free trade, liberty and prosperity in the Western hemisphere.

Ambassador Tomas Duenas of Costa Rica spoke about the dramatic positive effect that free trade had had in Central America, and warned of the implications if trade barriers increased. He recounted that the United States instituted policies of protectionism during the Great Depression, which caused other countries to respond with their own protectionist policies and ended up harming the entire world’s economy. “We must work together then to avoid falling into a similar situation,” said Duenas, “in difficult times some groups could find it politically attractive to follow that extremely detrimental path.”

Other ambassadors expanded on the dramatic economic effects that their countries have experienced as a result of more open trade with the United States. Ambassador Federico Humbert of Panama discussed how his country has seen growth for 23 straight quarters, and that 75 percent of Panama’s cargo goes to or from the US.

Ambassador Mariano Fernandez Amunategui of Chile spoke about how his country exported $8.7 billion and imported $7.2 billion worth of goods with the US, making Chile a larger US importer than Russia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Argentina and Turkey.

Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan spoke about the mutual benefits that have resulted from free trade between Mexico and the United States. “Twenty-five million new jobs have been created in America, in the United States, since NAFTA was approved,” said Sarukhan, “...this is a success story.”

Obama campaign conference call discusses views from Pennsylvania on NAFTA, job losses, and the Clinton campaign

The Obama campaign held a conference call with International Brotherhood of Teamsters President James Hoffa and Rep. Ryan Dvorak (D-ID) to discuss voter opinions in Pennsylvania and Indiana, and the role of Mark Penn in Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Hoffa said the current trend in Pennsylvania is that Clinton’s numbers are going down, and Obama is gaining on her. Hoffa said he has been campaigning for Obama at teamster’s conferences, talking about issues on trade, employee free choice, and Obama’s vision to keep jobs in the country and amend the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He said the aftermath of NAFTA is “still going on, still devastating America.” Hoffa said that Obama told him he was going to amend NAFTA and reverse the provisions that provide subsidies and tax relief for companies that leave the United States. Dvorak said Indiana also started with support for Clinton, but momentum is now moving forward to support Obama.

Hoffa also said that the latest issue with Clinton’s former chief strategist Mark Penn has hurt her credibility, and the “smartest thing she can do is to jettison him.” When asked to comment on comparisons between Penn and Obama’s senior economic policy adviser Austan Goolsbee’s meeting with officials at the Canadian consulate, Hoffa said there was “no comparison” because Penn was getting paid to lobby, and Goolsbee was just attending a meeting.

Hoffa was also asked to compare the labor situation in Pennsylvania to Ohio. He said Ohio was perhaps even more devastated by job movement than Pennsylvania, but that even though Clinton beat Obama in Ohio, he is still closing in on her in Pennsylvania. He said the movement for Obama is surprising and encouraging, and that unions are working hard to support him.

Clinton, Obama echo one another on issues

Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL) spoke to a crowd of largely CWA members to thunderous applause and multiple standing ovations about their plans as potential presidents of the United States on issues that ranged from labor unions and health care to broadband internet and green energy, from the mortgage crisis and the looming recession to NAFTA and the pending Colombia trade agreement.

Both democratic nominees expressed solidarity with union members and criticized the current Bush administration for their lack of support for the labor movement. Clinton allied herself with union workers as the “underdogs,” who kept persevering despite being told to back down. Clinton said she planned to make the Employee Free Trade Act “the law of the land.” Both candidates called for an end to privatization and outsourcing of American jobs, and Clinton promised to end tax breaks and subsidies to oil companies if elected. Obama pledged to invest $150 billion over ten years in green technology and new jobs that cannot be outsourced.

Both candidates advocated making high-speed internet available to all Americans to enable them to compete within the global economy. They also opposed Pres. Bush’s attempt to secure a trade agreement for Colombia, urging Congress to oppose the deal and call for an end to Colombian violence before negotiations are made. Clinton called herself the only candidate with a specific plan about how to fix NAFTA, and also said that Obama has no plan for universal health care. Obama said he opposes NAFTA, that he is the only candidate who will help middle-class families, and acknowledged that although he and Clinton have run a “fierce campaign,” no one can afford another four years of Bush policy. He called for an end to fighting in Iraq, and a new fight for American infrastructure.

Both candidates also compared Sen. McCain to Bush and said that McCain would worsen the damage caused by the Bush administration. Clinton said that if McCain received a 3 a.m. phone call with an economic crisis at hand, he would let it continue to ring. Obama criticized excessive war spending as wasteful, negated a 100 year occupation in Iraq alluding to a comment made by McCain, and urged America to say no to a metaphorical Bush third term.

Obama Campaign Slams Clinton for Flip Flopping

The Obama campaign conducted a conference call with Communications Director Robert Gibbs and Obama supporter Representative George Miller to set the record straight on Hillary Clinton's NAFTA positions.

“Yesterday brought another tale of repeating her exaggerations to her opposition to NAFTA. The facts, her records, and her own schedules while she was first lady completely contradict her claim,” says Gibbs. He went on to refute Clintons statements on the amount of jobs she provided in upstate New York and continued to combat her stances, or lack there of, on NAFTA.

Gibbs, with over thirty years of experience in Congress, spoke next with a short speech on NAFTA and voiced his dismay on how NAFTA agreements were carried out. He concluded with, "following NAFTA there was an absolute failure to provide a support system for those workers and families that needed to be retrained, that needed the opportunity to go back to school to provide the income for their families as they lost their jobs - and that’s why I'm supporting Barack Obama."