REVscene - Vancouver Automotive Forum

BaoXu · 03-11-2010, 01:04 AM

Quote:

U.S. lawmakers introduce bill to leave NAFTA

CTV.ca News Staff

Date: Tue. Mar. 9 2010 8:17 PM ET

A group of U.S. congressmen is throwing its weight behind a new bill that calls for the United States to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The bill, which is spearheaded by Rep. Gene Taylor, a Democrat from Mississippi, would require President Barack Obama to give Canada and Mexico six-months notice that the U.S. will no longer be a part of NAFTA.

The bill, which was introduced Mar. 4, has the support of 28 representatives in Congress, who argue that the agreement has cost the U.S. millions of jobs, particularly in manufacturing.

International Trade Minister Peter Van Loan said Tuesday that the groundswell of protectionism among some U.S. lawmakers is directed less at Canada than at Mexico, as well as overseas markets.

"I've been down there with the prime minister, meeting with President Obama. I met with congressional and Senate leaders and others that are key on trade files there, and what you get told again and again is, ‘Well, none of this is directed at Canada,'" Van Loan told CTV's Power Play.

"And there are understandable anxieties, concerns about loss of manufacturing to China, some concerns about the relationship with Mexico, (but) Canada always seems to be sort of the favourite son. Nobody looks at us as a bad guy."

A news release on Taylor's website tells a different story. According to the congressman, the United States' trade deficit with Canada was $11 billion in 1993, prior to NAFTA's enactment. In 2008, that trade deficit grew to $78 billion and only dropped down to $20 billion amid the global financial crisis.

The congressman also cites statistics that show that in 1993, the U.S. had a trade surplus with Mexico of $1.7 billion, but that turned into a trade deficit of $75 billion by 2007.

"NAFTA and similar free trade agreements have resulted in a 29 per cent decline in U.S. manufacturing employment since 1993," Taylor's statement reads. "NAFTA discourages investments in U.S. manufacturing facilities and accelerates the erosion of our industrial base."

Former U.S. ambassador to Canada, David Wilkins, said the bill "just makes no sense" because "the United States is not losing jobs to Canada."

"It's short-sighted, it might be good local politics, it might please the labour unions, but it's terrible public policy," Wilkins told Power Play. "And a stand-alone bill like this I think with our system of government, where it's easy to block legislation, I think it would be very difficult for them to pass this."

Former deputy prime minister and current president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives John Manley told Power Play he is concerned by the "lack of champions now for free trade in the United States."

But he also said he would be surprised to see protectionism take root in North America despite the ongoing economic crisis.

"At a very basic level it seems intuitive that if you block other countries out, you're going to do yourself some good," Manley said. "But it doesn't take a lot of depth of thought to realize that that's just plain wrong."

Van Loan said the government will monitor the bill's progress but "our assessment of it so far is that this is not a bill that's going to pick up a great deal of steam."

"Our challenge is to be vigilant and active standing up for Canadian interests, standing up for Canadian workers and jobs, but at the same time just reminding them that Canada's there," the minister said.

"Most overwhelmingly recognize NAFTA and free trade with Canada as having been very beneficial, as having created hundreds of thousands of jobs on both sides of the border, having led to greater prosperity on both sides of the border."

The culprits: Reps. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., right, and Bart Stupak, D-Mich., speak during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Thursday, March 4, 2010