Lawmakers Urge U.S. Trade Representative to Prioritize Jobs in America
WASHINGTON – Congressman A. Donald McEachin (VA-04) and Congressman John Lewis (GA-05) led fellow lawmakers on a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative, Robert E. Lighthizer, urging him to prioritize jobs for hardworking Americans as he renegotiates the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
“Twenty-four years ago, I opposed NAFTA because I was concerned about a race to the bottom in the pursuit of a profit. Unfortunately, many good, livable-wage jobs in Metro Atlanta moved overseas during this unprecedented era of free trade,” said Rep. John Lewis. “We know firsthand that there are persistent attempts to offshore United States’ jobs and pay the lowest possible wages. For these reasons, any meaningful deal must safeguard American jobs and include protections for workers in the United States and around the world.”
“The United States needs to seek strong, enforceable labor standards in a renegotiated NAFTA. Too many American workers have lost well-paying, middle-class jobs because other countries have lower wages and fewer workplace protections,” said Rep. Donald McEachin. “Current policy creates incentives for companies like Mondelēz to offshore jobs to Mexico and elsewhere, adversely affecting countless families and communities. Instead of rewarding offshoring, we need to encourage domestic investments that strengthen our economy and grow the middle class.”
Some large companies have developed a pattern of shifting thousands of good-paying jobs away from hardworking Americans to countries, such as Mexico, with lower wage and labor standards than the United States of America. While another country with weaker employment standards can be seen as an incentive for corporations, this developing pattern directly impacts middle-class American families.
“Preserving U.S.-based, livable-wage jobs is critical to the long-term health of both the American middle class and our broader economy. Cities like Richmond, VA; Atlanta, GA; Fairlawn, NJ; Chicago, IL; and Portland, OR – all of which host Mondelēz production facilities – can ill afford further offshoring. Yet, current policies incentivize that outcome,” wrote the Members of Congress. “We know that the American worker can compete with anyone in the world – but that competition needs to be fair. NAFTA renegotiations offer a unique opportunity to help create the level playing field that Americans need and deserve.”
This letter was also signed by Representatives Dan Lipinski (IL-03), Bobby Rush (IL-01), and Bill Pascrell (NJ-09). Full letter text is available here and below.
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Contacts:
(McEachin) Jamitress Bowden 202-225-6365
(Lewis) Michael Collins 202-225-3801
Dear Ambassador Lighthizer:
As you continue to re-negotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), we urge you to seek strong, enforceable labor standards that raise wages in Mexico and reduce incentives for offshoring; encourage domestic investment; and support well-paying American jobs.
Irrespective of its overall impact, NAFTA has displaced nearly 700,000 American workers, while trade deficits, in general, have cost the U.S. economy 5 million manufacturing jobs. For every one of those workers, and for their families, NAFTA produced a potentially wrenching, life-altering change. In turn, those changes have greatly affected surrounding communities – especially in places where the local economy was built on manufacturing.
As you know, these trends are ongoing. For example, since 2014 Mondelēz International has increasingly shifted production work from the United States to Mexico, where wages are far lower and labor standards weaker. This change has destroyed roughly a thousand middle class jobs at facilities across the country; one plant, in Philadelphia, has closed entirely. Five other facilities, and roughly 1,800 jobs, remain directly at risk. In turn, those facilities and positions support up to 7,000 additional jobs in the surrounding communities.
Preserving U.S.-based, livable-wage jobs is critical to the long-term health of both the American middle class and our broader economy. Cities like Richmond, VA; Atlanta, GA; Fairlawn, NJ; Chicago, IL; and Portland, OR – all of which host Mondelēz production facilities – can ill afford further offshoring. Yet, current policies incentivize that outcome.
We know that the American worker can compete with anyone in the world – but that competition needs to be fair. NAFTA re-negotiations offer a unique opportunity to help create the level playing field that Americans need and deserve. In your opening remarks at the first round of re-negotiations, you stated that the United States “cannot ignore … the lost manufacturing jobs, the businesses that have closed or moved because of incentives – intended or not – in the current agreement.” Changing those incentives should be a key priority as negotiations continue.
Your effort to re-negotiate NAFTA can only be considered successful if the new agreement creates strong standards that prevent employers in other countries from exploiting and underpaying workers or cutting corners in ways that our own laws forbid – and if you show the will to enforce those standards. We are confident that these changes and continued action will prevent future outsourcing, bring back jobs, lift wages, and strengthen the middle class – to the lasting benefit of our economy and our country.
As always, thank you for your attention to our concerns on this grave matter. We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,