Ed Pastor questions whether a proposed Canamex highway, touted as a provision of NAFTA, will ever be built. From MSNBC:
Pastor voted for NAFTA but now regrets that vote. He opposes business-backed free trade accords, citing concerns about job losses and the lack of environmental and labor standards in Latin American and Asian markets. He also worries about potential job losses if increased links to Mexico encourage companies to ship jobs out of the U.S.
The Phoenix congressman is a high-ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, which gives him a hand in deciding which projects get funding, and which don’t. That hand could be a lot a stronger next year if Democrats win congressional elections in November.
In an increasingly global world, it is unrealistic to assume that we can turn the clock back on trade agreements.
That said, our big mistake has been that we have plunged into them only looking at theoretical gains and at the benefits to people who engage in trade. I believe that any future free trade agreements that we sign should include conditions in three areas: 1. labor standards, so that the country we sign the agreement with either is on a par with our own labor standards, or the agreement will have to be periodically renewed and defined progress in terms of labor standards has to be made and documented, 2. environmental standards, done the same way as labor standards, and 3. an independent, effective judiciary which can guarantee that laws ill be upheld and enforced.
Unless they meet these three conditions, I would hesitate to support any more free trade agreements.
NAFTA, CAFTA AND SHAFTA along with the republican thugs have destroyed this country.
We now export more raw material than we import and import more finished goods than we export. THIS IS 3RD WORLD COUNTRY FINANCE. Thank a greedy republican, and all of the foolish politicians who voted for this crap.
No man’s life, liberty or fortune is safe
while our legislature is in session.”
– Benjamin Franklin
Well at least Ed is able to bring himself to confess that his vote was wrong. AZ’s entire congressional delegation voted for NAFTA, and all the media backed it. A few lone voices found their way into the media to warn against it, almost all on the political left: Ralph Nader, Alexander Cockburn, among others. But the overall news coverage of the issue was shameful, utterly pro-corporate, and still is, as the debate over undocumented workers and immigrants seldom gets into the root cause.
Maybe Ed should have read the agreement before he voted for it and not let Clinton bribe him with the promises of some great pork deals if he voted for it. Maybe Ed! You should start reading legislation before you vote on it. Everything that is going on right now was in the agreement including guest worker programs, sanitary and phytosanitary measures. Accepting licenses of people from foreign nations no matter what proffession they are in. No enviornmental controls or regulation of Mexican trucks or drivers or weight limits . Yet our truckers have to abide by our National laws. Harmonizing standards of all kinds so we lower ours to equal out with Mexico’s and other nations that sign on. You all have to remember that Clinton is the one that really pushed this thru. Congress has continued to accept bad trade agreements based on the deals that Clinton Administration made. All of our trade agreements are modeled after NAFTA and Gatt! Great going guys. Now fix em before we go broke and destroy our entire manufacturing base. Now is the time to fix or get out of the bad deals. It can be done. There are provisions to withdraw.
REGARDING N A F T A, (North American Free Trade Agreement).
President George Bush and all of Congress or any other person that is a citizen of the United States of America, CEASE AND DESIST NAFTA.
Senator, Congressman, Representative, as always and now dated again on August 04, 2008, I am requesting that the NAFTA, be
placed in CEASE AND DESIST.