Bush And Dems Reach Bipartisan Trade Deal
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Foreign Policy, General Politics, The WorldWell done.
The unusual agreement, which came after weeks of negotiations, would guarantee workers the right to organize, ban child labor and prohibit forced labor in trading-partner countries. It would also require trading partners to enforce environmental laws already on their books and comply with several international environmental agreements.While the understanding was a victory for Democrats, it also represented a shrewd compromise by the White House. The agreement is the first major bipartisan economic deal to emerge since Democrats took control of Congress in January. It has immediate importance for four countries � Colombia, Panama, Peru and South Korea � that are seeking to enter into trade pacts with the United States.
But officials in Washington predicted that the agreement’s effect would go beyond those countries and could be a template for all trade deals, including a possible worldwide accord.
Is there anything else to say besides that?
This entry was posted on Friday, May 11th, 2007 and is filed under Foreign Policy, General Politics, The World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
May 11th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
I keep wondering if those who argue the most strongly on this topic are familiar with one concept: subsistance agriculture. Any idea the hours, working conditions, number of children involved? Thought not — not a clue in the world.
Certainly all of these labor practices would be good to ban. And I personally think nobody ought to have to deal with them. But if the alternative is living and working in a subsistance agriculture situation, they can look like a step forward. And sometimes, however regretable it is, they show every sign of being the only available step forward. Anybody who urges a blanket ban ought to have some hard evidence for how his alternative will successfully get people out of subsistance agriculture in the real world.