FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 15, 2007

Montana Farmers Union Supports the End of “Fast Track”

GREAT FALLS, MT (March 14, 2007) – The current presidential Fast Track trade authority expires in June 2007, prompting discussions in Washington, D.C., resolutions in the Montana Legislature, and the Montana Farmers Union (MFU) to release the following statement:

“The Montana Farmers Union believes that the so called “Fast Track” trade authority should be allowed to expire when its current authorization ends in June 2007.  Congress should once again take up its responsibility of control and oversight of future international trade agreements rather than delegate to the Executive Branch its constitutional authority to control the content of U.S. grade agreements.

“In light of this position, MFU offers support for Senator Jim Elliott’s (D-Trout Creek) Senate Joint Resolution No. 17 urging Congress to “…create a system that ensures that trade agreements are developed and implemented using a democratic, inclusive mechanism that enshrines the principles of Federalism and state sovereignty.

“Fast Track was first introduced in 1974 by then-President Richard Nixon.  Since then, many of the worst U.S. trade agreements, including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), have been negotiated using Fast Track. 

“Before Fast Track the U.S. had balanced trade and rising living standards; since that time, however, the U.S. trade deficit and imports have both increased dramatically.

“There are significant ramifications to these trade negotiation practices, including:

“Destructive policy for farmers and ranchers – according to National Farmers Union President Tom Buis, recent trade agreements such as NAFTA and CAFTA, which were negotiated under Fast Track, have been destructive and intensely unpopular with farmers, ranchers and working families.  ‘These agreements are the reason we have an $800 billion trade deficit,’ he said.  In addition, U.S. trade negotiators have been trying to trade away the interests of America’s family farmers and ranchers.  ‘We’re being forced to compete with countries that do not have to meet our high labor, environmental and health standards,’ said Buis.

“U.S. a FOOD importer – the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service figures from January 2007 show that the United States has become a net food importer.  American farmers were told by NAFTA and WTO supporters that as the “breadbasket” of the world they would benefit from the measure.  However, the amount of food imports over took exports in August 2006. 

“International pre-emption – Fast Track also commits state officials to conform local laws to numerous non-trade domestic policy restrictions in these trade pacts, without even a cursory role in the matter.  State officials, Congress and the public have virtually no way to hold U.S. trade negotiators accountable during trade negotiations.  The concept of “checks and balances” has been lost.

“Worker wages suppressed and stagnant – according to Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of Labor Statistics figures from January 2007, the average American worker is only making a nickel more per hour in inflation-adjusted terms than in 1973, the year before Nixon’s Fast Track was first used to take over Congress’ constitutional trade authority.

“Unfair trade – proponents of current trade rules say that U.S. workers win when imports increase because of overseas production because we all can buy cheaper goods.  Yet, according to the non-partisan Center for Economic and Policy Research, which applied actual data to trade theory, U.S. workers without college degrees lost an amount equal to 12.2 percent of their current wages.  In other words, under our current policy the losses in wages from trade outweigh the gains in cheaper prices from trade.  For a worker earning $25,000 a year, this loss would be slightly more than $3,000 a year.

“U.S. economic inequality – the National Bureau of Economic Research in a 2006 paper on the evolution of top incomes reveals that the richest 10 percent of Americans are taking nearly half of the economic pie.  In addition, an even more elite group (the top one percent of income earners) is taking nearly a sixth of the economic pie.  Nearly all economists agree that our trade policy has partially driven this widening inequality.

“Worldwide poverty, hunger and displacement – according to the World Bank Research Observer the portion of the population living on less than $2 a day in Latin America and the Caribbean rose following the implementation of NAFTA and WTO.  According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, ‘Since the [1990] baseline period, process [toward reducing hunger] has slowed significantly in Asia and stalled completely worldwide.’  The displaced rural poor in the Fast Track era have had little choice but to immigrate, join urban workforces and face chronic unemployment in the developing world’s cities.  According to a 2006 article in the New York Times, those who have not fled rural areas are no longer with us.  According to the Indian government, tens of thousands of farmers bankrupted by trade policies commit suicide, leaving their children and families without alternative means of support.

“Race to the bottom – Montana Farmers Union policy (crafted by its members at its annual convention) recognizes that there are many ethical, moral and societal issues which are important to us as citizens.  Where public policy involves us as rural citizens and as Farmers Union members, we accept our responsibility to speak to these issues whether in the global arena, on the national scene, or in our state, cities and rural communities.

“Montana Farmers Union is non-partisan and does not endorse candidates or provide financial support; members are encouraged to participate in the activities of the political party of their choice.  Consequently, our policy regarding trade agreements is not influenced by party affiliations or platforms.

“The United States enjoys the safest, highest quality, and most economical food supply in the world.  We request our state and national organizations insist that government maintain that high standards for all.

“The strength of America is rooted in self-sufficiency in natural resources, particularly food production.  We must not become dependent on imported food, which would make us vulnerable to terrorist activity.  Federal spending priorities must not shortchange our domestic family farm agriculture.

“Montana Farmers Union endorses legislation that prevents the United States from expanding NAFTA or entering into additional free trade agreements until the problems caused by NAFTA are addressed.

“Fair trade agreements should level the playing field with America’s trading partners.  America’s family farmers and ranchers should not have to compete with cheap, lower quality imports from countries that pay little or no attention to environmental and labor standards, and who manipulate currency levels at will to benefit trading arrangements.

“Further, Global trade should not drain the wealth of one country for the benefit of others.  The sovereignty of the U.S. and its states to govern within their borders must not be diluted or internationalized. 

“At its recent national convention, NFU delegates also called upon the Administration and U.S. trade negotiators to abandon efforts to conclude the Doha Round agreement at the WTO.  Delegates said the Doha agreement would devastate American agriculture and accelerate the race to the bottom for commodity prices.”

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