WASHINGTON, DC-Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander M. Levin (D-MI), issued the following statement as prepared for delivery at a hearing today on the Administration’s trade policy agenda:
“I am disappointed that we start today’s hearing without action to extend the Trade Adjustment Assistance program scheduled to expire on February 12th. TAA has been a good faith effort for nearly 50 years to assist workers who have lost their jobs through trade and globalization. As a result of the 2009 reforms an additional 170,000 workers are eligible for TAA which will help them secure new good paying jobs. Starting Tuesday, tens of thousands of displaced workers in our country will be affected and I strenuously urge my Republican colleagues not to let this vital program lapse.
“Congressional Democrats have been actively working to shape a new trade policy that is responsive to the changing dynamics of a global economy. We rejected the passive, hands-off approach of the last administration, embracing expansion of trade in ways that assess its impact and broaden the benefits from expanded trade.
“Carrying out this new policy, we succeeded in pushing for the inclusion of enforceable worker rights and environmental standards, beginning with their incorporation in the Peru FTA. We have fought for vigorous enforcement of the basic rules of competition with our trading partners. We have insisted that trade must be a two-way street - not a one-way street - in critical areas of trade.
“This is in sharp contrast to the approach of the last Administration, whose view was that trade was good in and of itself, and that more trade automatically was better, regardless of its terms. As President Obama responded, ‘we just went through a decade where we were told that it didn’t matter, you just keep on importing, buying stuff from other countries … and everything is going to be okay. … [B]ut it was all built on a house of cards.’
“So the Obama Administration has undertaken a vital effort to implement a new and improved trade policy.
“For example, a commitment to the enforcement of existing trade agreements and trade laws. That is clear from the China safeguard action on tires. (And recent data indicate that the safeguard action has helped to make possible an increase in U.S. production and employment in U.S. tire manufacturing.) The commitment to enforcement is also clear from the filing of the first case ever on labor provisions in the trade agreement, with Guatemala. And I hope to see that case move forward as soon as possible.
“A commitment to two-way trade was embodied in the President’s insistence that we go back and change the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement to finally knock down the barriers there, where automotive trade accounts for 75% of the $10.6 billion U.S. trade deficit with South Korea.
“This would not have happened if Republicans had earlier succeeded in their insistence that flawed trade agreements be approved.
“Likewise, in the case of Panama, the Administration pushed for an agreement to address Panama’s status as a ‘tax haven,’ and we understand Panama is working to ratify and implement that agreement now. This Administration has also been working on efforts started several years ago to ensure that Panama’s labor laws comply with basic international standards and with its FTA obligations. Because of our efforts, there are now important labor law changes pending before the Panamanian legislature.
“With regard to Colombia, as we have pointed out repeatedly and as indicated consistently in State Department and ILO reports, there are serious outstanding issues relating to the Colombia FTA. Colombian labor laws fall short of ILO norms and workers struggle to exercise their right to associate and collectively bargain in a range of sectors. Persistent problems include: abuse of cooperatives and other forms of contracting; employers’ direct negotiation with workers when unions are present; and prohibitions on the right to strike. Moreover, enforcement of labor laws is weak.
“Union worker violence in Colombia remains unacceptably high, if not the highest in the world. Limited progress is being made in the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for union murders (as well as the murders of human rights defenders, community activists, internally displaced leaders and victims of extrajudicial killings). Additionally, reports indicate that threats against union workers and others have increased and there has been little concrete action to date to pursue these cases.
“As I observed during my 5-day fact-finding trip in Colombia last month, the new Santos Administration has now articulated a different approach from its predecessor that provides an opportunity for serious discussions between the two governments on these concerns. But we should be very clear that the burden is on the Colombian government to act and address concerns that have been made abundantly clear to them for years. The only adequate measuring stick that I support is progress on the ground.
“There are also areas where I believe we can and must do more to change U.S. trade policy. I hope, for example, that the Administration will take on additional tools and resources - and will develop a comprehensive strategy - to address China’s many trade-distorting policies and the larger threat of ‘state capitalism.’ A good place to start would be in the President’s upcoming budget. Ambassador Kirk and his staff need a substantial increase in funding to address that most important trade policy challenge of our time, and I hope my colleagues across the aisle will join me in supporting such additional funding.
“I also hope the Administration will take a more assertive stance to address China’s currency manipulation - including by filing a WTO case, applying countervailing import duties in appropriate cases, and formally designating China as a currency manipulator. Other countries are now warning of a global ‘currency war’ and a global ‘trade war.’ The time has come for action.
“It is action - on so many fronts - that we are already taking. Republicans have expressed impatience with changing U.S. trade policy as they have called for us to return to the failed policies of the past and approve flawed trade agreements.
“Let me just make clear: We will not go back." #
