|
"Free trade agreements", as the Republicans and Democrats are
fond of calling them, like NAFTA along with organizations and
institutions like the WTO (World Trade Organization), the IMF
(International Monetary Fund) and the WB (World Bank) make
commercial trade supreme over environmental, labor, and consumer
standards and need to be replaced with open agreements that pull-up
rather than pull down these standards. These forms of secret,
autocratic governance and their detailed rules constitute nothing
more than corporate-managed trade which puts short-term corporate
profits as the only priority. While global trade is a fact of life,
trade policies must be open, democratic and not strip-mine
environmental, social and labor standards.
Participation in the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) has
meant a race to the bottom for workers, family farmers and the
environment, causing nearly a half billion dollar trade deficit and
a loss of over 500,000 jobs. So-called "free trade" has encouraged
companies in the U. S. to leave the country in search of low wages,
low commodity prices, anti-union climates, and lax environmental
laws. “Free trade” as it is championed by both the Democratic and
Republican parties has stocked our retail shelves with goods
produced by foreign workers under harsh working conditions that
would be illegal if found in this country. NAFTA shifts power away
from state and local government and directly challenges our U. S.
Constitution, as in the case when our "Buy American" laws were
challenged by other countries.
Free trade
favors the multinational corporations which fund the candidates of
both the Republican and Democratic parties; not the citizens or
their communities. These trade agreements are not fair and
beneficial to U. S. agriculture and are a threat to our national
food security. The September 2003 Cancun WTO negotiations on
agricultural subsidies, domestic supports and market access and
special treatment for developing nations were a failure and caused
breakdown in overall negotiations.
Expansion of the General Agreement on Trades in Services (GATS)
leaves water supplies, electrical services, healthcare, and
education unprotected from the greedy tactics of multinational
corporations.
I therefore propose that
our government carry out the following policies to restore control
of trade from multinational corporations to the jurisdiction of the
U.S. government and for the benefit of U.S. citizens, by:
1.
Immediately withdrawing from NAFTA and the WTO
2. Opposing
unfair "free trade" agreements including the Central American Free
Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and the Free Trade Area of the Americas
(FTAA)
3. Opposing expansion of the General Agreement on
Trade in Services (GATS)
4. Urging Congress to work for fair
trade agreements that are beneficial to U.S. workers and farmers,
and that protect the environment and our local economies.
I
further propose that the President and Congress:
1.
Re-structure the rules of performance of the IMF/WB (International
Monetary Fund / World Bank) to end the debts of recipient nations,
and to install strict standards in the IMF/WB that control the use
of grants or loans to prevent fraud, misuse, and subversion of funds
by recipient governments.
2. Re-write the rules for
investment of corporate capital in projects operated under the
IMF/WB to guarantee the rights of the citizens of the nations
receiving the investment and their right to public ownership and
control of their own resources.
3. Mandate and protect
labor's right to organize, create unions and negotiate with
management in all countries receiving U.S. investment, and require
U.S. corporations that operate in other countries to guarantee those
workers the same rights that American workers enjoy.
4.
Legislate and enable oversight by an independent agency or a labor
union to verify that foreign workers' rights are protected.
5. Secure the rights of our states, here at home, to
establish stricter standards for health, safety, and for the
environment than those of our national government, and to protect
themselves against substandard, imported goods.
6. Secure
the right of states and municipalities to refuse to invest in
foreign businesses that do not abide by their standards for imported
goods, fair trade, and environmental protection.
7. Prohibit
U.S. corporations from avoiding or evading payment of their taxes by
banking abroad or locating their charters offshore.
8. Every
day over $1 trillion dollars circles the globe in currency trade -
wreaking havoc on low-economy nations - without obligation to
sustainable investment. I propose the restriction of the unfettered
flow of capital and currency trade, and to levy the Tobin tax of
.05% on cross border currency transactions.
9. I support the
funding and expansion of non-government organizations (NGOs) in
their missions to educate and train people of less developed nations
in initiating local business and economic development, and in
providing health care and family planning.
10. Under the
agency of the United Nations, I demand that our government renew and
initiate government funding and support for family planning and
contraception in all countries that request it.
11. I reject
the U.S. government's economic blockade of Cuba. I will ask the U.S.
Congress to lift the embargo and restore normal diplomatic relations
and respect for national sovereignty, and demand that the U.S.
government end its veto of U.N. resolutions pertaining to
Cuba. |
