[UPDATE: 7:04 p.m. CST: We are advised that Congressman Gene Green (D-Houston) is firmly AGAINST the Peru Free Trade Agreement! We applaud Congressman Green for his principled stance on this important issue!--VL]
[In the interest of helping folks understand this issue, I'll be watching the comments the rest of the afternoon and would be glad to answer any questions anyone may have on it.--VL]
The Peru Free Trade Agreement, also known as the Peru-United States Free Trade Agreement (PTPA) will be up for a vote in Congress on Wednesday morning. As usual, it's bad news.
Not a single labor, environmental, faith, family farm or Latino civil rights group supports the PTPA. Why?
How about because it contains those lovely "foreign investor privileges" identical to those found in failed trade agreements of the past, like NAFTA and CAFTA. These create incentives for companies to move factories out of Texas, where labor is cheaper.
Texas doesn't need PTPA. We've already lost 141.7 thousand manufacturing jobs under the Bush Administration. From 2000 to 2006, we've lost 471.1 thousand jobs, according to stats from the AFL-CIO. More than 72,000 jobs lost are directly attributable to poor trade agreements like NAFTA.
PTPA opposition is spread far and wide, but it's uncertain if we'll be able to sustain a huge majority to not only defeat PTPA, but also send a message. From The Hill:
The most vocal opposition to the agreement will come from Pelosi's own party, as members representing districts with battered manufacturing sectors, particularly in the Midwest, are already lobbying hard against the deal. Many will question why Democratic leaders are supporting any trade deals, given the 3 million decline in U.S. manufacturing jobs since 2001.
Complicating the matter for Pelosi is the fact that some of the most prominent critics are freshman lawmakers whose victories elevated her to the Speakership. One is Rep. Phil Hare (D-Ill.), a former textile worker and union leader elected last year, who has watched firms like Maytag leave his district to produce jobs in Mexico.
Hare and other critics were bolstered over the weekend when Democratic presidential candidate and former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.), whose mother worked in a textile mill, announced his opposition to the Peru agreement. Edwards said the deal did not meet his standard of "putting American workers and communities first, ahead of the interests of the big multinational corporations."
It's time for Congressional Democrats to send the message that we need real, bi-partisan trade agreements, not one-sided-deals that ship American jobs overseas like PTPA.
As of last Friday, the following Texas Democrats hadn't staked a position on PTPA:
Al Green
Ruben Hinojosa
Silvestre Reyes
Chet Edwards
Sheila Jackson-Lee
Charlie Gonzales
Ciro Rodriguez
Eddie Bernice Johnson
Nick Lampson
If you live in a district represented by any of these Congressmen or Congresswomen, please call their office and urge them to vote against PTPA. Project Vote Smart has a list of all of Texas' congressmen and women here. You can click on the name of your Congressman and urge them to vote "no."
Three Texas Democrats, Doggett, Cuellar, and Gene Green, are supporting PTPA. Calling them wouldn't hurt, either. And, if you live in a Republican district, why not call your congressman, too. We need every vote on this one...because Texas needs every job.
