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U.S.
Senator Sherrod Brown
Exporting
American Products, Not American Jobs
There’s an
old cliché that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over
and
over again, and expecting different results.
Well, if
that’s the case, then our trade policy represents insanity. Though
NAFTA was
signed nearly two decades ago, a trade deal with China was inked about
a dozen
years ago, and CAFTA was signed some seven years ago, we still haven’t
seen any
change.
The time
for a new direction in trade policy is overdue. For decades, we’ve seen
our
trade deals undermine good-paying American manufacturing jobs. We’ve
lost more
than five million jobs to our so-called “trading partners,” and new
export
opportunities have not been enough to offset the jobs lost. So, as the
United
States begins negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), we must
take a
new approach to trade policy.
But
instead, the TPP –as it currently stands – is nothing more than a case
of déjà
vu all over again. This proposal would take the NAFTA model and create
one of
the largest free trade zones in the world with the U.S., Mexico,
Canada,
Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and
Vietnam
as the initial members. And just when the American auto industry is
making a
strong recovery, Japan—a nation that has notoriously closed off its
market to
U.S. auto markets—is seeking to join the TPP.
It’s time
for an honest assessment of what our trade agreements have yielded, and
it’s
time to recognize where changes are in order.
The TPP is
an opportunity to learn from the past. And that means demanding that
our trade
partners uphold the same labor, environmental, and human rights
standards that
we do. This means that Ohio workers – be they employees at auto
companies or
small manufacturers – have a chance to compete on a level playing field.
But as
we’ve seen with past trade agreements, U.S. negotiators are not
demanding that
American manufacturers receive the same ability to sell their products
abroad
as countries like China and South Korea have in our nation.
We need
trade, and we need more of it. I’m committed to doubling our exports by
2015.
But what we don’t need is to rush head-long into new trade agreements
without
protecting our own interests, gaining real market access in foreign
countries –
especially for autos and manufactured goods – and getting the rules
right.
Americans
know that when it comes to new trade deals, the choices are not limited
to free
trade or protectionism.
And at a
time when too many Ohioans are still looking for work, we cannot sign a
lopsided trade agreement that tips the balance against American
automakers and
workers. In a trade partnership, everyone should play by the same
rules. And so
when these rules are being established, the negotiations matter.
Congress has a
role to play, especially when trade agreements increasingly get
involved in
debates about provisions services, government procurement, worker
conditions,
and the environment.
That’s why
I introduced the 21st Century Trade and Market Access Act.
This bill
would require that the President submit reports to Congress detailing
which
countries are on track to meet the deadlines and commitments that we’ve
agreed
upon. We need to know if progress is being made and if our partners are
playing
by the rules.
Again, the
TPP is a tremendous opportunity to get trade right. The President must
have the
authority to negotiate new and better trade deals, but first Congress
needs to
set the direction so that we can ensure that trade is free and fair.
We should
be exporting American products, not American jobs.
Sincerely,
Sherrod
Brown
U.S.
Senator
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