Congressman Schrader supports NAFTA-style trade deal with Korea

During his first term in Congress, the veterinarian and former state senator from Canby has compiled an interim Committee on Political Education (COPE) voting record of 94 percent, based on 17 worker-related issued tracked by the national AFL-CIO. None of the bills tracked dealt with trade.

Asked about Rep. Michael Michaud’s (D-Maine) Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment (TRADE) Act, which would create a new U.S. trade agreement model that benefits America’s workers, consumers, farmers, and businesses, Schrader said he would “have a tough time getting there (supporting it), the way it is worded.” He didn’t indicate the specific language in the bill that bothered him, although he did point out that he supports inclusion of environmental and labor standards in any and all free trade deals.

A total of 134 members of Congress have cosponsored the TRADE Act. The bill also has strong support from organized labor.

The TRADE Act establishes a process for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review existing trade agreements; sets criteria for what must be included in future trade agreements, such as bans on Buy American provisions and new rights and privileges for foreign investors; and reasserts congressional authority in the trade policymaking process. Issues covered by the legislation include labor rights, the environment, food safety, human rights, financial regulation, national security and more.

Schrader went on to say that the U.S. needs to quickly ratify a trade deal with South Korea, “because if China beats us to it, we’ll be in a world of hurt.”

He said the U.S. needs to export more goods in order to ramp up the economy. “The federal government is tapped out on what it can spend, and it’s unlikely the American consumer will come back and buy and spend the way they used to. This means a longer and slower recovery,” he said.

Schrader said at this juncture he is opposed to the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, and is undecided on the Panama FTA.

At the NOLC Executive Board meeting, Schrader listened to a variety of labor concerns and ideas, including revising the Pension Protection Act of 2006, maintaining six-day delivery of the mail, and using stimulus dollars to replace aging fleets of mail trucks in Portland with U.S.-made electric mail trucks.

Schrader is facing a challenger in the Democratic primary in May and, if victorious, will have Republican opposition in November’s general election.