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08/06/2010
On the second day of a two-day visit to Maine, the president's top trade advisor has been hearing from some members of the state's manufacturing sector about how trade policy has been hurting them. U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk toured the Verso paper mill in Bucksport before holding a round table forum with business leaders and state officials this afternoon.
Speaking during a teleconference with reporters, Kirk said the goal of the discussions was to help them understand the rationale behind President Obama's so-called National Export Initiative, which aims to double U.S. exports.
"In particular, the role that our being able to move forward with the Korean, Colombian and Panamanian free trade agreements can play in helping us meet that goal of doubling exports, but more importantly, creating jobs at a time that America desperately needs them," Kirk said.
The White House says the export initiative could help to create two million jobs. That's no consolation, however, to the thousands of manufacturing workers who've lost their jobs in Maine since 1994, when the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed, says fair trade activist Sara Bigney.
"We're talking about Maine jobs here, and they continue to be lost and the free trade agreements that Ambassador Kirk is pursuing and pushing will only continue to worsen the problem for workers here in Maine," she says.
Bigney is an organizer with the Maine Fair Trade Campaign, a coalition of 60 labor, environmental and human rights groups, which is actively opposed to NAFTA and other similar initiatives. Bigney says they're unfair because they make American companies compete against countries where labor and environmental regulations are less stringent.
"There isn't a level playing field and that's the problem," she says. "A Lemforder plant in Brewer that made auto parts shut down and moved a lot of its production to Mexico, and the workers in Mexico work very long hours for very little pay. We can't compete with companies that move abroad to take advantage of not having environmental standards and not having to follow the rules that we have here or using chemicals that we've banned here in the United States, but yet we import those products -- they're being manufactured using those chemicals abroad." (Click link for full story)
Maine needs fair trade reform, Mr. President
http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/148966.html
Mr. President, welcome to Maine. On behalf of working men and women, I welcome you to our fine state. As you may know, Maine is not only revered for its lobsters and picturesque coastline, its great North Woods and extraordinary lakes and rivers, it is also known for its exemplary work force. Often cited as one of the most productive work forces in the country, Maine men and women are hardworking, loyal, dependable and efficient.
However, while we tout a first-rate work force, Maine families are struggling — jobs are hemorrhaging from the state. Mr. President, you won’t have to travel far from Mount Desert Island to see another, less bucolic picture of Maine — one of shuttered mills and vacant Main Streets. Our unemployment rate nears 9 percent. Month after month, the Department of Labor certifies laid-off workers as eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance — their jobs lost due to outsourcing or increased imports.
Over 30,000 manufacturing jobs have fled the state since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement. You wouldn’t have to travel but 50 miles west to see the closed ZF Lemforder shop in Brewer. Lemforder recently relocated to Mexico, costing 400 workers their jobs.
Unfair trade policy, skewed to benefit multinational corporations, and an elite class of investors have led to off-shoring of jobs, massive layoffs, a vast trade deficit, and unprecedented investor rights afforded to foreign corporations.
Mr. President, you campaigned on trade reform. You called for renegotiation of NAFTA and other trade deals, you pledged to reform the egregious investment provisions and to incorporate enforceable labor provisions. We ask you to follow through on your campaign promise. (Click link for full op-ed)