Congressional Briefing: Rethinking U.S. Trade Policy for the Common Good

Briefing Hosted By Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-NC), Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), and Interfaith Working Group on Trade

Monday, March 12, 2007

(Washington, DC)—U.S. Reps. Walter B. Jones (R-NC) and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), in collaboration with Interfaith Working Group on Trade and Investment (IWG) will host a Congressional briefing entitled “Rethinking U.S. Trade Policy for the Common Good,” tomorrow, Tuesday, March 13, from 8:00am until 2:30pm in Rayburn Congressional Building Room B369.

The briefing follows last week’s reemergence of the bipartisan, bicameral coalition, which first formed during the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) debate. Led by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Reps. Mike Michaud (D-ME), Walter B. Jones (R-NC) and Linda Sanchez (D-CA), and the IWG, the coalition’s priorities for the 2007 trade agenda are:

Reduce manufacturing job loss
Re-evaluate fast track
Integrate enforceable labor standards and national security requirements in trade deals
Combat currency manipulation; and
Improve workforce competitiveness.

Speakers at the briefing will include U.S. Representatives from both sides of the aisle, academics, religious leaders, and elected officials and activists from the Global South who will share stories about the negative effects CAFTA and other trade agreements are already having on the people of their countries. The briefing will also raise the issue of the role trade agreements have played and will play continue to play in state and local governments in the U.S.

With the goal of persuading members of Congress to think beyond the issues of jobs and the environment to embrace a broader, moral, ethical vision, the briefing will explore three areas:

Trading Away Livelihoods: The current US trade agenda has resulted in job loss, rural dislocation, and increased migration. To be consistent with American values, trade agreements should enable people to have well-paying, safe employment to support their families.

Trading Away Democracy in the U.S. and in State and Local Governments: The “one-size-fits-all” trade model has resulted in a loss of sovereignty for signatory countries, including the U.S. Moreover, an increasing number of states are demanding to be excluded from trade agreements as they discover local policies, such as food safety protections and land use, zoning, environmental and local tax laws can be challenged through trade agreements.

Trade Away Food Security: Farmers and food workers in impoverished countries seek food sovereignty, which respects the right of every country and region to establish food and farm policies based on needs, conservation of natural resources, distribution of economic opportunities and the right of producers to serve local markets at fair prices.

In addition to Reps. Jones and Kaptur, speakers include:

Erika Duenas, Embassy of Bolivia, Economic Adviser
Francis Ng’ambi, Economic Justice Network of the Southern Africa Conference of Churches
Leslie Hossfeld, Assistant Professor of Public Sociology, University of North Carolina, Wilmington
Manual Montes, Chief, Policy Analysis and Development Branch at Financing for Development Office of UNDESA, (from the Philippines)
James Hug, SJ, President of the Center of Concern
Robert K. Stumberg, Professor of Law and Director, Harrison Institute for Public Policy, Georgetown University Law Center
Angela Wayue, Food Rights Coordinator, ActionAid Kenya
Victor Quintana, Via Campesiana Mexico
Larry Mitchell, CEO, American Corn Growers Association

The Interfaith Working Group on Trade and Investment (IWG) is a group comprised of religious congregations and faith-based organizations who have long spoken out for trade rules that promote the common good – here in the U.S. and for our trading partners.

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Faith in Public Life is a communications and organizing resource center for faith leaders sharing a call to pursue justice and the common good. Faith in Public Life is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization.

CONTACT: Kristin Sampson, co-chair of IWG advocacy, ksampson@coc.org or 202.635.2757 x128 Katie Barge, Faith in Public Life, kbarge@faithinpubliclife.org