----- Original Message -----

Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 10:04 AM

Subject: FW: Fair Trade vs Free Trade

From: Michael & Judy Howden [mailto:mikejudyhowden@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 9:19 AM
To: Milwaukee Clean Clothes Campaign
Subject: Fair Trade vs Free Trade

With the 2008 presidential election campaigns already well underway, there is a lot of talk about international trade issues. At issue is the need for �fair trade� vs. �free trade.�

Protectionism and isolationism are not relevant positions. We all purchase imported products and many Wisconsin companies manufacture exported products. Therefore in an ideal world, an open exchange of goods and services should enable all nations to prosper and excel in the economic sectors in which they are the most efficient.

The better approach would be to have �fair trade agreements� that guarantee that workers in the countries with which we trade has protected rights to organize a union in order to improve their standard of living and that their governments adhere to internationally recognized human rights and environmental standards. It�s not a matter of imposing American wage standards on (say) China, but rather a matter of everyone competing on the basis of international standards that virtually every county in the world has agree to � but may not enforce. On this more level playing field, American workers and farmers can compete � and win � as long as we have truly �fair trade standards.�

As for the current misguided �free trade� policies of the Bush Administration, which include �Fast Track Authority,� we have seen stagnant wages and growing job insecurity in America, following the lost of 3 million manufacturing jobs since 2001. Many of those job losses are due to offshore outsourcing, while an increasing number of white-collar service-sector jobs are also at risk.

During the Bush years, his �fast track� trade deals have helped produce nearly $3.6 trillion in cumulative U.S. trade deficits. Soaring trade deficits and their failure to control them depress U.S. output, employment opportunities and living standards for most Americans. All the more reason why we need to regain our economic footing and strategically step back to assess the economic impact of �fast track� on working families in the U.S. and abroad. Absent a balanced assessment and change in trade strategy, our country will find itself on the same failed path.

Fast track trade agreements also undermine our democratic process because Congress isn�t allowed to make amendments to any trade agreements and debate is limited to 20 hours. In fact, the President actually signs these trade agreements before our Congressional representatives ever have an opportunity to see them. This is not what our founding fathers intended when they wrote the Constitution � maintaining the checks and balances between Congress and the President.

America can not afford to keep pursuing the trade policies of the Bush Administration that have undermined protections for the environment, for workers and for our public health and safety. Therefore rejecting free trade and the fast-track authority is an essential first step toward turning trade policy from a disastrous record trade deficit into an ally of middle class working men and women � the corner stone of America�s prosperity and economic security � �fair trade.�