House Democrats Call For Reform Of U.S. Trade Agreements

By Leah Valencia, University of New Mexico- Talk Radio News Service

Members of the House Trade Working Group called on the Obama administration Wednesday to review current U.S. trade agreements and push for a trade overhaul in the upcoming World Trade Organization ministerial meeting.

“We want to work together to develop a trade agenda that we can all be proud of,” said Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) during a press conference.

Rep. Michael Michaud (D-Maine) and Slaughter said they want Obama to live up to campaign promises on trade by dismissing the Doha round trade liberalization talks, agreements aimed at lowering trade barriers for developing countries, and start a compete overhaul that focuses on labor rights for American workers.

“As our nation’s representatives prepare to head to Geneva, we want them to know that the trade act not only represents a way here at home, it also mirrors calls from many WTO countries to turn around the WTO,” said Michaud. “This represents exactly what many nations have called for at WTO: a review of the existing views and the will to fix what is broken.”

Earlier this year Michaud introduced a legislation that calls for a review of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Central Free Trade Agreement. The bill has support from nearly half of the House Democratic Caucus.

“Even our trading partners are astonished that all these years we have watched our country away decline without making a peep,” said Slaughter. “We have just gave away, gave away, gave away.”

Though President Barack Obama has not addressed trade agreements recently, he will meet with the WTO general council in Geneva, Switzerland to discuss the WTO trading system and the global economic climate on Nov. 30.