Bill would create new international trade commission
Scores of people are expected to testify on a bill Thursday that promises to give Maine people a stronger voice in international trade.
The bill, LD 1815, creates the Citizen Trade Policy Commission to monitor and assess the impact of any international trade agreements on Maine jobs, businesses and laws. It was initiated by the Maine Fair Trade Commission, a coalition of groups that promotes labor rights, environmental protection, fair business practices and peace.
The group amassed 13,000 signatures on a ballot in support of the bill.
“I think the hearing will go really well,” said Matt Schlobohm, statewide organizer for the commission. “A number of legislators are working for it and a number of businesses are behind it.”
Among backers are the AFL-CIO, Maine Council of Churches and the Maine People’s Alliance. Schlobohm said he expects between 50 and 100 people will speak at the bill’s public hearing Thursday.
The bill was prompted by the continuing rise of international trade agreements, such as the current Central America Free Trade Agreement that extends the existing NAFTA agreement to include Central America. MFTC’s concern is that such agreements are borne of trade policies that sacrifice people and environmental protections for profits. The most obvious result of misguided trade policies has been job losses, especially manufacturing jobs.
“It doesn’t make sense to have an economic trade policy that encourages job losses,” said Schlobohm, citing the 18,000 manufacturing jobs lost in Maine in the last three years. As an example, he noted that trade policies adopted with NAFTA eliminated tariffs and duties for American exports, which in essence encouraged U.S. manufacturers to locate overseas, taking their jobs with them.
Schlobohm also cited the record $500 billion trade deficit the U.S. has right now, an outgrowth of its international trade policies.
He said his group isn’t opposed to global trade, but wants to reframe the debate so that the question becomes who gets to set the rules.
“The free trade movement looks at what kind of rules we have to govern trade and who do they benefit,” said Schlobohm.
The bill would create a 17-member commission charged with finding the answers to those questions. Members would assess the social, economic, environmental and legal impacts of free trade agreements on Maine, hold public hearings throughout the state, and develop policy to protect Maine jobs and laws. The commission would also make recommendations to the Legislature, Maine congressional delegation and U.S. trade negotiators.
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