John Edwards is the candidate on the Democratic side that clearly understands this. Since his entry into the primary for the Democratic nomination he has consistently been a voice of sanity on this issue, and has consistently backed the American worker and American industry against these unfair deals. Lets take a look back at some of Edwards views on this subject.
First, Edwards had this to say about President Bush's negotiations with South Korea for a free trade agreement:
"Thousands of American autoworkers learned this week that they will lose their jobs because of ill-conceived and poorly enforced trade agreements - and what is the Bush Administration doing? It's working overtime to sign a trade agreement with a country that refuses to open its market to American cars.
"Enough is enough. President Bush should shut down all trade negotiations with South Korea until they prove their willingness to open their market to American automobiles and other U.S. products and agree to trade fairly.
"The huge loss of jobs announced this week by DaimlerChrysler should be a wake-up call for this president: one-sided trade agreements hurt working families.
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
It is time that American leaders care as much about American workers as they do about the workers of other countries. Edwards understands that we cannot continue to give free trade to countries who will not extend the same protections to our workers. It is time we have a leader who fights for American workers, and John Edwards is that leader.
Next, Edwards stood up for the American Auto worker:
"The news that Toyota has passed GM as the world's top automaker while President Bush stubbornly pursues a one-sided trade deal with South Korea vividly demonstrates the stakes of the next election for American workers. For decades, American automakers and auto workers haven't just built automobiles, they've built the American middle class that's now been decimated by the failure and neglect of our national economic policies. A dangerous combination of bad trade policies and inattention to economic crises like out-of-control health care and energy costs is squeezing the life out of our manufacturing economy. This pattern will continue until we have an administration that focuses first on the needs of ordinary Americans instead of catering to those on top.
"The President should abandon his dogged pursuit of a trade deal that kicks American automakers when they're down. We already buy more than 100 times more South Korean cars than they buy from us. Any trade deal should start with South Korea fully and fairly opening their market to American autos. For over 50 years, South Korea has been one of our most valuable allies in Asia, but even friends should bargain fairly and, unfortunately, we know from previous experience that South Korea has not lived up to its agreements on autos."
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
Next, Edwards called for President Bush to protect American workers againt the Chinese manipulating currency:
"The Bush Administration should stop sitting on its hands and actually do something to save American jobs. We have known for years that China is manipulating its currency to boost its trade advantage with the United States, and working families are suffering.
"Because China is a member of the World Trade Organization, we have tools to use to hold China accountable for its currency manipulation. Once again, I call on President Bush to use his authority and end this unfair Chinese advantage. Simply pointing fingers at China cannot substitute for getting our own economy in order, but neither can we allow China to continue policies which harm American workers and the entire global trading system."
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
We need a leader who is more concerned with helping American workers than manipulating cheap Chinese slave labor. Edwards is that leader.
Next, Edwards unveiled his plan for Smart and Safe trade. It had five main objectives:
Be a tough negotiator who will reject bad trade deals. Edwards will make sure trade deals help regular families, include strong labor and environmental standards and fight currency manipulation.
Demand a level playing field for trade. Edwards will assign top prosecutors at the U.S. Department of Justice to the job of enforcing trade laws, including the stronger labor and environment standards he will negotiate. He will eliminate tax incentives for corporations to move offshore.
Revamp trade assistance to help dislocated workers and communities. Edwards will create a new "Training Works" initiative, help communities recover from mass layoffs and strengthen the safety net for workers who lose their jobs.
Ensure the safety of imported food and drugs and enforce mandatory country-of-origin labeling, letting families choose the origin of their food. Edwards will also enforce a "zero tolerance" rule and immediately freeze the specific import of any food, toys, medicines, or other goods that threatens the health of our children and families.
Require Country-of-Origin labeling so that consumers have the option of choosing safe, American-raised meat and poultry and American-grown produce.
This is an excellent plan. American workers need someone to fight for them, and Edwards has proven he is up for such a fight. See his whole plan here:
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
Also, read his speech on the subject here:
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
I think it goes without saying that Edwards has led the way in fighting for free trade. Not only does Edwards seek to protect Americans from unfair trade, but he came out with an excellent plan to protect them from unsafe trade also. He had this to say:
"The recall of Fisher-Price toys highlights the need for smarter, safer trade and consumer protection policies in this country. I've talked about what we have to do to make food safer. Now with nearly 80 percent of children's toys made in China, we need to strengthen our ability to ensure the safety of products designed for our children's hands. We need tougher penalties for safety violations and we need to look at solutions like third-party testing of imported toys. At the same time we need to put the Consumer Product Safety Commission back on the side of consumers—instead of having their travel bought and paid for by the industries they are supposed to regulate."
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
Next, Edwards had this to say about the August report that showed job losses:
"Today's jobs report is a troubling sign that problems in the credit markets are spilling over into the rest of the economy. The number of jobs fell for the first time in four years, and the unemployment rate would be rising if hundreds of thousands of people hadn't giving up looking.
"George Bush's economic policies -- which have relied on regressive tax policies and a housing bubble -- are failing. It's time for Washington to look past the needs of the special interests and put working families and the middle class first on the agenda. The best way to create new jobs is to rebuild America: true universal health care, new jobs in renewable energy, modernizing our infrastructure, and an end to our failed trade policies."
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
Finally, on his Building One America bus tour, Edwards unveiled his plan for smart trade in America. This plan had six excellent points:
Enact Smarter Trade Policies: Trade deals need to make sense for American workers, not just corporations. Trade agreements like NAFTA and the WTO include special privileges for corporations, such as strong remedies for commercial rights and unprecedented rights to challenge environmental and health laws.
Insist on Benefits for Regular Families: Edwards believes that the true test of a trade deal is not its reception on Wall Street or contribution to the gross domestic product. Instead, his primary criterion for new trade deals will be simple: considering its impact on jobs, wages and prices, will it make most families better off? He rejects President Bush's use of trade agreements to encourage countries to support his foreign policy, rather than to strengthen our economy.
Demand Strong Labor Laws: Edwards believes that all of our trade partners should be required to enforce at least the core labor rights defined by the International Labor Organization: the right to organize and bargain collectively and prohibitions against forced labor, child labor, and discrimination.
Require Environmental Standards: Edwards supports strong environmental standards so multinational companies cannot profit by exploiting weak environmental laws and enforcement in some countries. For example, after the U.S. has capped its greenhouse gas pollution as Edwards proposes, trade policy could be used to encourage similar commitments by other nations.
Eliminate Tax Incentives to Move Offshore: The U.S. tax code encourages multinational corporations to invest overseas by allowing them to indefinitely defer taxation on their foreign profits. In some cases corporations actually receive subsidies to invest overseas through a "negative tax." Edwards will eliminate the benefit of deferral in low-tax countries, ensuring that American companies' profits are taxed when earned at either the U.S. rate or by a foreign country at a comparable rate. [Grubert and Mutti, 2002; Altshuler and Grubert, 2001; Treasury, 2000]
Revamp Trade Assistance and the Safety Net to Help Dislocated Workers and Communities: Americans today are more likely to lose their jobs and less likely to receive unemployment benefits. For too long, the federal government has stood by while plant closings devastate entire towns. Edwards will fight for these workers and their communities, by modernizing unemployment insurance to cover 500,000 more workers a year and creating a new "Training Works" initiative tied to high-wage jobs. He will help communities recover quickly from mass layoffs with better advance warning and more resources to shore up the local tax base, plans for attracting family-sustaining jobs, and help for local businesses. [EPI, 2003; NELP, 2007]
See this whole plan here:
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
It is plain to see that John Edwards understands the damage done to the American worker, American trade, and American companies by the scourge of free trade. The last thing we need in our party or country is another DLC type leader who will insist on shoving more of these deals down the throat of the American worker. John Edwards has been all across this country talking with Americans and has seen first hand the difficulties caused by these unfair trade policies. He can be trusted to make sure any new trade deals don't leave American workers and industries behind for the profits of the least patriotic among us. Once again, Edwards has shown he is on our side. Lets nominate a leader who fights for us!!!
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