On Canada Trip, Obama Floats a Discredited NAFTA Canard

Bad news from CBS:

Obama: Economic Crisis May Delay NAFTA Negotiations

President Obama made a U.S.-led renegotiation of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) labor and environmental standards a central promise of his campaign. But asked today if he plans to start negotiations during his Thursday visit to Canada, Mr. Obama suggested that economic duress may postpone the NAFTA plans.

"There are a lot of sensitivities right now because of the huge decline in world trade," Mr. Obama told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

This is troubling on two levels. First and foremost, we need to renegotiate NAFTA to put labor and environmental standards into the agreement so that they are truly enforceable. We protect pharmaceutical patents, intellectual property and copyrights in NAFTA - that is, we protect corporate rights in the agreement, and we need to protect human/environmental rights too, just as Obama promised during the campaign.

But even more upsetting is the broader ideology Obama seems to be espousing in his rationale for potentially delaying systemic trade renegotiations.

Though he reluctantly went on to say he thinks labor and environmental protections need to be put into NAFTA, the way he structured his comments - specifically, the way he juxtaposed economic growth against reformed trade - seems to subscribe to the discredited concept that making trade rules more fair somehow at odds with economic growth . Oddly, he's implying this at the very same time he has said worker rights (i.e. The Employee Free Choice Act) and environmental protection (for example, investing in green jobs) are key to long-term economic growth here at home.

Of course, the idea that basic environmental and worker rights in trade agreements are bad for the economy has no actual basis in data or fact. It's all free-trade theology - but certainly not "pragmatism" and certainly not based in any concrete evidence. This theology asks us to believe that protectionism for patents and for (as Dean Baker repeatedly points out) professional jobs is great for economic growth at a time of crisis, but the same protectionism for human rights and the environment would exacerbate the economic crisis.

Where is this theology coming from? Likely from the Team of Zombies. Obama has put the same free-trade fundamentalists in his government that originally crafted and championed NAFTA and NAFTA-style trade agreements (Summers, Geithner, Emanuel, etc.). These are people whose careers coddling corporate power are directly at odds with Obama's campaign promises (made, of course, in key industrial swing states) to seriously reform our trade policies.

This, of course, says nothing of the broader trade reforms that Obama also promised during the campaign - procurement reforms, reforms of international trade organizations, etc. Labor/environmental standards are the absolute minimum that needs to happen. And again, no one has been able to substantively show how the pragmatic fair trade reforms most progressives are pushing would weaken economic growth.

So now Obama has to choose whether to follow through on his campaign promises, or back out of them at the behest of his Washington advisers. Between his tepid statements on basic Buy America laws that he originally promised to vigorously support and now these weak statements on NAFTA, it looks like he's starting to prioritize the Washington status quo on trade over real change he promised.

Comments

[mjc]

NAFTA and concept of free trade will go the same way as many of Obama's promises. Obama put in place the people who basically want very little regulation of American corporations and want American goods and services to be free to enter any other country, but especially in North America and South America, WITHOUT any tariff restrictions or food and health considerations. But goods and services coming into this country...­, a different story.....­for these same guys: Summers, Rubin, Geithner, Emanuel. This country it seems has reverted to an old British idea: exploit the less wealthy and less powerful countries and control trade completely. It was known as mercantilism in the 1750s.

[Stupert]

If so, that's because most of the people running the country can trace their roots to old british people. hence the old british ideas.

Good luck getting your mojo back, 'cause I think the rest of the world stole it.

[steelmill]

NAFTA isn't working,it never has, Obama lied to the American working class,like Clinton to get elected.

[Stupert]

Well at least we don't have free trade in greedy wall street bankers perpetrating fraud on the population at large or a massively deregulated and unsupervised financial system set up to profit in the short term but collapse in the long term. You can keep that stuff, thank you very much.

[Stupert]

What I don't understand here is why people don't come out and say it - what Americans are concerned about with NAFTA has nothing to do woth Canada and everything to do with Mexico which is where everyone thinks the jobs went.

As a proud but not paranoid Canadian, I have no interest in re-opening labor and environmental provisions with the United States becasue I think going lowering standards on these issues is ridiculous.

Oh yeah - to the person who attempted to list some Canadian labour advantages - here's another one, Canadian workers get 6 months maternity or paternity leave - by law. How do you like them apples?

Plus all that universal health care.

Given that Canada/US represents the largest trade relationship in the world (and in trade, things go both ways), you would think it would be in everyone's interests to just leave it alone.

Never mind that we are the largest supplier of oil and gas to the US and that when the US talks about independence from foreign oil, we don't count as foreign. Think about that before you start ripping up perfectly acceptable agreements.

[DinkSinger]

The best thing that could happen for American labor would be for the Canadians to insist in a NAFTA revision that American labor laws be brought up to their standards. For example, Canadian law limits the maximum hours worked in a week to 48, requires that all workers receive two weeks of paid vacation with three weeks after six years of employment, and requires double time and a half pay for those who work on holidays.

[YesWeCanada]

NAFTA is much like the recovery bill just passed....­mostly good and needed but all sides can see problems with it. Don't assume that the USA can open NAFTA and get changes the are seen to benift the USA without giving up something else or having the whole thing fall apart.

Also, Canada does as much or more then the USA in terms of Labor/environmental standards.

[movecenter]

Canadians are so paranoid. There haven't even been any real discussions on specific NAFTA changes. Calm down.

[SilviaMaria]

David, I love all your posts, but Obama has only been in office for a month. I wish we could change a lot of things right away, but it will take some time. Obama inherited a mess.

[movecenter]

Obama may be being pragmatic by not igniting a global uproar by making strong public statements on Buy American. In spite of his tepid stance on Buy American, the clause did make it into the stimulus plan. So the question is will it be enforced. Advocacy groups will have access to how the money is spent on recovery.gov. Obama also campaigned on closing tax incentives that encourage global outsourcing. Hopefully US workers will gain from one of these initiatives. Time will tell. Meanwhile, good to keep reminding him.

[LeftLeaner]

The fact that he assured the Canadians that NAFTA would not change - not help American workers.

Also, the fact that Obama has softened the text in the stim in the provision to "BUY AMERICAN FIRST" in order to not disturb our sensitive trade agreements is, frankly, UNAMERICAN.

What does the American public have to do to get a legislator who is protecting them, not everyone else in the globe BESIDES the American worker.

I've had it!!!

[trumpetman]

I think you have to be careful when it come to NAFTA. Because you can't just eliminate Free trade because we need it. It is a matter of incorporating fair trade ! He metioned incorporating standards that will be fair to all parties. So some of you need to calm down, bringing change through legislative process does not come quickly because it is a delicate process !

[trumpetman]

Left Leaner we can't go into trade wars especially right now since the economy is in shambles. But he did mention including provisions to NAFTA. Obama is playing it smart because if just comes up with radical changes that will lead to trade wars and further economic erosion. So you need to be practical

[rbchilds]

Agree totally, most people don't know what Smot-Hawley was. Protectionist measures will be met with retaliatory measures which will kill trade. When trade dies, economies die. Want to relieve Grapes of Wrath poor, use protectionist measures and see what happens. I don't agree with a lot of what most politicians do, but Obama is wise on the account.

[natriley]

Be careful, Mr. Sirota. Your reservations about the team of zombies are well taken, and they are widely shared. CNBC makes many of the same points from an opposite political stance. The doubts have congealed around Tim Geitner and his financial plan or lack of it.

But negotiating a treaty is not something we should expect during the first year of a new administration. Treaties require coordination between agencies and require a large staff of trusted subordinates. These hires will not be completed until 2010. Trade treaties and health care (especially after the Daschle debacle) are issues the will surface next year. Since it is an election year you may be happier with the results.

[goodneighbor420]

I am hoping that he's just stalling for a while. I'll bet that there are soooooo many things to do and so little time to do them that not everything gets done 'right away'. I agree with you that environmental and human rights SHOULD be included in NAFTA. I'm gonna take a 'wait and see' attitude for now.......­......

[LeftLeaner]

I think that NAFTA should also be "FIXED" to held AMERICAN JOBS and workers.