G
Gandalf Grey
Guest
SECRET TRADE DEAL - DAY 6: Senator Says K Street Getting "Wink & Nod" From
Bush
By David Sirota
Created May 16 2007 - 9:56am
This is another in a series of ongoing posts [1] following the announcement
of a secret free trade deal on May 10, 2007 between a handful of senior
Democrats and the Bush administration.
Six days after the press conference announcing a secret free trade deal
between Democratic congressional leaders and the Bush White House, a
full-scale revolt appears to be brewing on Capitol Hill. Rank-and-file
Democratic lawmakers have demanded an immediate debate about the deal, and
Democratic leaders have responded by rejecting such a request. A top
Democratic senator says K Street is receiving a "wink and nod" from the
White House that the final legislative language - which has not been made
public - will allow the Bush administration to avoid enforcing any of the
much-touted standards in the deal. GOP leaders, meanwhile, are signaling
that the deal will not be incorporated into the core text of trade
agreements at all. And, of course, almost every news outlet has refused to
report that top K Street lobbyists have said they have received "assurances"
that the deal's provisions on labor and the environment will be
unenforceable. Here's today's full news report.
EMANUEL NIXES DEMS' DEMAND FOR OPEN DEBATE ON THE SECRET DEAL: As first
reported on Sirotablog yesterday [2], Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm
Emanuel (D-IL) nixed a bid by rank-and-file Democratic lawmakers to hold a
Democratic Caucus meeting to discuss the secret trade deal. The request,
first made by lawmakers in a letter to Emanuel last week [3], was initially
"rebuffed," [4] then accepted [5], and then at the last minute, Emanuel
pulled the plug. Emanuel was one of the key players in pushing NAFTA through
Congress as an aide to President Clinton in the early 1990s. Responding to
the reporting of this story, a spokeswoman for Emanuel's office this morning
emailed me to say that the cancellation of the trade debate occurred because
of "time constraints" and that Emanuel has now promised the caucus "we would
continue with our plan to have a trade-focused caucus meeting soon." He did
not set a date certain for that meeting.
GOP AND WHITE HOUSE SAY TRADE DEALS WILL NOT BE RE-WRITTEN AS PROMISED:
Yesterday afternoon, industry newsletter Inside U.S. Trade reported that
House Ways and Means Ranking Member Jim McCrery (R-LA) "said it is his
preference and that of U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab that the new
obligations for free trade agreements announced last week not lead to a
reopening of the Peru free trade agreement." This follow's McCrery's claim
yesterday that the secret deal can be completed "in a way that does not
require Peru's political system to revisit the deal all over again." In
laymans terms, the enforceability of the promised labor and environmental
provisions hinge on the Peru and Panama free trade agreements being reopened
so that their texts can be modified. As NAFTA has shown, so-called "side
agreements" that are not written into the text of the actual trade texts
have proven entirely unenforceable because they are not part of the core
agreement. If the Peru and Panama deals are not, in fact, going to be
reopened and renegotiated, then the highly touted promises of adding
enforceable labor and environmental provisions to the core texts of trade
agreements appear to be in question. This may explain why the Bush-connected
head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has told reporters he has received
"assurances that the labor provisions [in the deal] cannot be read to
require compliance." [6]
KOREAN GOVERNMENT SAYS IT WILL REFUSE TO RENEGOTIATE: The Korea Herald
reports that "South Korean negotiators are not going to give in to a
possible request by U.S. trade negotiators for renegotiations of their
recently concluded bilateral free trade agreement." The secret deal would
supposedly require South Korea to add labor and environmental provisions to
a previously negotiated - but not yet ratified - trade agreement with the
United States. But "the Korean government firmly says renegotiations are out
of the question." An official with the Korea-U.S. FTA Negotiation Division
at the Korea Trade Ministray said, "The Korean government is adamant about
having no renegotiations." Korea currently abides by just one of the seven
ILO core provisions. Will the U.S. back down in the face of such bullying?
BROWN - K STREET IS GETTING 'WINK AND NOD' FROM WHITE HOUSE: In an exclusive
interview with CNN's Lou Dobbs [7] on Tuesday, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D)
said he is most concerned with the secret deal's lack of teeth, saying "I
see no sign yet that [the Bush administration] wants to enforce" the labor
and environmental standards supposedly included in the deal. Responding to
comments by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of
Manufacturers who have said the stasndards will be unenforceable, Broown
said "they're kind of getting a wink and a nod" from the White House that
the standards "are not going to be enforced." Brown is the author of the
book "The Myths of Free Trade" and ran his successful Senate campaign
against lobbyist-written trade deals. He is considered one of Congress's top
leaders on trade, yet was kept in the dark about the details of the deal.
WSJ - FAIR TRADERS "LOST" IN THE DEAL: The conservative editorial board of
the Wall Street Journal [8] applauded the secret deal, saying it represents
a major defeat for the progressive movement. Fair traders ""wanted the U.S.
to abide by the core principles of the International Labor Organization" and
"wanted third parties -- such as the AFL-CIO -- to be able to file trade
complaints" but "they lost on both counts." The deal asks the White House
"to abide only by...general aspirations about curtailing forced labor and
the like, rather than specific legal obligations." International tribunals,
which have the power to overturn U.S. local/state/federal environmental and
consumer protection laws when corporations file suits, will "have no power
to alter U.S. law" when similar complaints are brought up on labor concerns.
MSNBC - OBAMA "SOUNDS WARY OF THE DEAL": MSNBC [9] reports that in public
appearances this week on the presidential campaign trail, Sen. Barack Obama
(D-IL) "sounded wary of this deal." He said, "We haven't actually seen the
details.... I want to wait and see what exactly the language is" and make
sure the union provisions are strong and enforceable.
MACHINISTS OPPOSE DEAL, SLAM SECRECY: In a press release [10], the
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM)
announced "it will vigorously oppose any trade deal that fails to fully
incorporate internationally recognized labor standards as defined by the
International Labor Organization." IAM President Tom Buffenbarger said, "The
actual text of the agreement has not yet been made available and widely
varying reports of its contents raise serious and troubling questions." IAM
said it "is highly suspicious that the trade deal is seriously deficient"
not only because of its potentially unenforceable standards, but because of
other "procurement and investment issues." The Politico reports that
"several unions are already mobilizing to defeat" the deal.
CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION SIGNALS CROSS-OVER OPPOSITION TO CURRENT TRADE
POLICIES: Public Citizen reports that the Hermiston, Oregon City Council
unanimously passed a "Resolution to Retain Local Jobs" last night, in a vote
of 7-0. The resolution calls on Congress to "oppose international trade
agreements that facilitate to the offshoring of Oregon jobs" and to replace
Fast Track trade promotion authority with "democratic" and "inclusive" trade
policymaking procedures. Area residents, many of whom had lost jobs when the
Simplot processing plant moved abroad under the North American Free Trade
Agreement, testified in support of the resolution at last night's City
Council meeting. Loaded Orygun [11] notes that "Hermiston is nestled in
Umatilla County, which is a very RED area of Oregon" represented by
archconservative Rep. Greg Walden (R) - "a willing participant in voting yes
for these free trade agreements." Could 2008 be another year where
complicity in our current trade policy proves to be a critical election
issue?
_______
About author David Sirota is a political strategist and NY Times bestselling
author whose work appears in major newspapers and magazines. He has appeared
on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and The Colbert Report. He has appeared in TV debates
with right-wing icons like Ann Coulter, John Stossel and John Fund. Email:
david [at] davidsirota.com.
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
Bush
By David Sirota
Created May 16 2007 - 9:56am
This is another in a series of ongoing posts [1] following the announcement
of a secret free trade deal on May 10, 2007 between a handful of senior
Democrats and the Bush administration.
Six days after the press conference announcing a secret free trade deal
between Democratic congressional leaders and the Bush White House, a
full-scale revolt appears to be brewing on Capitol Hill. Rank-and-file
Democratic lawmakers have demanded an immediate debate about the deal, and
Democratic leaders have responded by rejecting such a request. A top
Democratic senator says K Street is receiving a "wink and nod" from the
White House that the final legislative language - which has not been made
public - will allow the Bush administration to avoid enforcing any of the
much-touted standards in the deal. GOP leaders, meanwhile, are signaling
that the deal will not be incorporated into the core text of trade
agreements at all. And, of course, almost every news outlet has refused to
report that top K Street lobbyists have said they have received "assurances"
that the deal's provisions on labor and the environment will be
unenforceable. Here's today's full news report.
EMANUEL NIXES DEMS' DEMAND FOR OPEN DEBATE ON THE SECRET DEAL: As first
reported on Sirotablog yesterday [2], Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm
Emanuel (D-IL) nixed a bid by rank-and-file Democratic lawmakers to hold a
Democratic Caucus meeting to discuss the secret trade deal. The request,
first made by lawmakers in a letter to Emanuel last week [3], was initially
"rebuffed," [4] then accepted [5], and then at the last minute, Emanuel
pulled the plug. Emanuel was one of the key players in pushing NAFTA through
Congress as an aide to President Clinton in the early 1990s. Responding to
the reporting of this story, a spokeswoman for Emanuel's office this morning
emailed me to say that the cancellation of the trade debate occurred because
of "time constraints" and that Emanuel has now promised the caucus "we would
continue with our plan to have a trade-focused caucus meeting soon." He did
not set a date certain for that meeting.
GOP AND WHITE HOUSE SAY TRADE DEALS WILL NOT BE RE-WRITTEN AS PROMISED:
Yesterday afternoon, industry newsletter Inside U.S. Trade reported that
House Ways and Means Ranking Member Jim McCrery (R-LA) "said it is his
preference and that of U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab that the new
obligations for free trade agreements announced last week not lead to a
reopening of the Peru free trade agreement." This follow's McCrery's claim
yesterday that the secret deal can be completed "in a way that does not
require Peru's political system to revisit the deal all over again." In
laymans terms, the enforceability of the promised labor and environmental
provisions hinge on the Peru and Panama free trade agreements being reopened
so that their texts can be modified. As NAFTA has shown, so-called "side
agreements" that are not written into the text of the actual trade texts
have proven entirely unenforceable because they are not part of the core
agreement. If the Peru and Panama deals are not, in fact, going to be
reopened and renegotiated, then the highly touted promises of adding
enforceable labor and environmental provisions to the core texts of trade
agreements appear to be in question. This may explain why the Bush-connected
head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has told reporters he has received
"assurances that the labor provisions [in the deal] cannot be read to
require compliance." [6]
KOREAN GOVERNMENT SAYS IT WILL REFUSE TO RENEGOTIATE: The Korea Herald
reports that "South Korean negotiators are not going to give in to a
possible request by U.S. trade negotiators for renegotiations of their
recently concluded bilateral free trade agreement." The secret deal would
supposedly require South Korea to add labor and environmental provisions to
a previously negotiated - but not yet ratified - trade agreement with the
United States. But "the Korean government firmly says renegotiations are out
of the question." An official with the Korea-U.S. FTA Negotiation Division
at the Korea Trade Ministray said, "The Korean government is adamant about
having no renegotiations." Korea currently abides by just one of the seven
ILO core provisions. Will the U.S. back down in the face of such bullying?
BROWN - K STREET IS GETTING 'WINK AND NOD' FROM WHITE HOUSE: In an exclusive
interview with CNN's Lou Dobbs [7] on Tuesday, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D)
said he is most concerned with the secret deal's lack of teeth, saying "I
see no sign yet that [the Bush administration] wants to enforce" the labor
and environmental standards supposedly included in the deal. Responding to
comments by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of
Manufacturers who have said the stasndards will be unenforceable, Broown
said "they're kind of getting a wink and a nod" from the White House that
the standards "are not going to be enforced." Brown is the author of the
book "The Myths of Free Trade" and ran his successful Senate campaign
against lobbyist-written trade deals. He is considered one of Congress's top
leaders on trade, yet was kept in the dark about the details of the deal.
WSJ - FAIR TRADERS "LOST" IN THE DEAL: The conservative editorial board of
the Wall Street Journal [8] applauded the secret deal, saying it represents
a major defeat for the progressive movement. Fair traders ""wanted the U.S.
to abide by the core principles of the International Labor Organization" and
"wanted third parties -- such as the AFL-CIO -- to be able to file trade
complaints" but "they lost on both counts." The deal asks the White House
"to abide only by...general aspirations about curtailing forced labor and
the like, rather than specific legal obligations." International tribunals,
which have the power to overturn U.S. local/state/federal environmental and
consumer protection laws when corporations file suits, will "have no power
to alter U.S. law" when similar complaints are brought up on labor concerns.
MSNBC - OBAMA "SOUNDS WARY OF THE DEAL": MSNBC [9] reports that in public
appearances this week on the presidential campaign trail, Sen. Barack Obama
(D-IL) "sounded wary of this deal." He said, "We haven't actually seen the
details.... I want to wait and see what exactly the language is" and make
sure the union provisions are strong and enforceable.
MACHINISTS OPPOSE DEAL, SLAM SECRECY: In a press release [10], the
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM)
announced "it will vigorously oppose any trade deal that fails to fully
incorporate internationally recognized labor standards as defined by the
International Labor Organization." IAM President Tom Buffenbarger said, "The
actual text of the agreement has not yet been made available and widely
varying reports of its contents raise serious and troubling questions." IAM
said it "is highly suspicious that the trade deal is seriously deficient"
not only because of its potentially unenforceable standards, but because of
other "procurement and investment issues." The Politico reports that
"several unions are already mobilizing to defeat" the deal.
CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION SIGNALS CROSS-OVER OPPOSITION TO CURRENT TRADE
POLICIES: Public Citizen reports that the Hermiston, Oregon City Council
unanimously passed a "Resolution to Retain Local Jobs" last night, in a vote
of 7-0. The resolution calls on Congress to "oppose international trade
agreements that facilitate to the offshoring of Oregon jobs" and to replace
Fast Track trade promotion authority with "democratic" and "inclusive" trade
policymaking procedures. Area residents, many of whom had lost jobs when the
Simplot processing plant moved abroad under the North American Free Trade
Agreement, testified in support of the resolution at last night's City
Council meeting. Loaded Orygun [11] notes that "Hermiston is nestled in
Umatilla County, which is a very RED area of Oregon" represented by
archconservative Rep. Greg Walden (R) - "a willing participant in voting yes
for these free trade agreements." Could 2008 be another year where
complicity in our current trade policy proves to be a critical election
issue?
_______
About author David Sirota is a political strategist and NY Times bestselling
author whose work appears in major newspapers and magazines. He has appeared
on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and The Colbert Report. He has appeared in TV debates
with right-wing icons like Ann Coulter, John Stossel and John Fund. Email:
david [at] davidsirota.com.
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
