[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 51 (Wednesday, May 3, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H2084]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL TRADE AGREEMENTS DON'T WORK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MICHAUD. Mr. Speaker, does anyone here or watching at home wear 
one-size-fits-all clothing? It never fits right. It never looks good. 
What works for one person doesn't work for another. When it comes to 
trade agreements, a one-size-fits-all approach does not work either.
  So then why are we negotiating trade agreements that take a one-size-
fits-all approach to very different countries? Electronic comparison of 
the labor chapter in CAFTA versus the same chapter in Oman and Peru 
FTAs shows that Peru's FTA text is word-for-word identical to CAFTA. 
The Oman text contains only four syntax changes that do not alter the 
underlying meaning.
  The labor chapter simply requires that each country enforce its 
existing labor laws. It does nothing to require countries to improve 
their laws to reflect fairness to working people.
  There are also no safeguards in the agreement to prevent countries 
from weakening their labor laws. This is the same failed CAFTA 
approach: Squeeze it into one-size-fits-all clothing and slap it on to 
two different countries, Peru and Oman.
  In Peru, the United States State Department has indicated that child 
labor remains a serious problem. It is estimated that 2.3 million 
children between the ages of 6 and 17-years-old are engaged in work. In 
Oman, the revised 2003 law remains in serious violation of the 
International Labor Organization's most important and fundamental 
rights, the freedom of association and the right to organize and 
bargain collectively.
  The Sultan of Oman allows for no independent unions in the country. 
Whatever worker representative committees exist in the country, they 
are also subject to the government's approval. Such committees may not 
discuss wages, hours or conditions of employment. Needless to say, 
these are flawed agreements. They borrow weak labor rules from CAFTA 
and apply them to the countries that are in dire need of better labor 
standards for their workers. They do nothing to improve the lives of 
the work or the working conditions of these people. And, make no 
mistake, what is bad for them is also bad for us here in the United 
States.
  Any vote for the Oman or Peru FTA must take into account the broader 
economic reality that we are facing here today. Our trade deficit hit a 
record shattering $726 billion last year. We have lost more than 3 
million manufacturing jobs since 1998. Average wages have not kept pace 
with inflation this year, despite healthy productivity growth. The 
number of people in poverty continues to grow, and the real median 
family income continues to fall.
  Offshore outsourcing for white collar jobs is increasingly impacting 
highly educated, highly skilled workers. Record trade and budget 
deficits, unsustainable levels of consumer debt, stagnant wages, all 
paint a picture of an economy living beyond its means, dangerously 
unstable in a volatile global environment.
  These trade deals are not working for us. They aren't working for 
this country or for the countries we trade with either.
  I urge all Members of the House to send our new United States Trade 
Representative an important message: All future agreements must make a 
real departure from a failed NAFTA and CAFTA model in order to succeed.
  American workers are willing to support increased trade if the rules 
that govern are fair, if they stimulate growth, create jobs and protect 
fundamental rights, both in America and abroad. I am committed to 
fighting for better trade policies that benefit U.S. workers and the 
U.S. economy as a whole.
  We simply cannot afford more of the same, one-size-fits-all clothing, 
because what you will get is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

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