Difference between revisions of "Draft GPUS Platform Amendment Trade"

Revision as of 00:27, 10 April 2010

Section Title: Trade

Subsection title: Fair trade, not corporate-managed trade

Our position: Greens believe in trade agreements that improve labor, environmental, consumer, health and safety standards.

During the presidencies of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, the United States has pursued trade agreements that increase the profits of the world's largest multinational corporations at the expense of the environment, domestic sovereignty, consumers, workers, family farmers, safety and human rights. We believe that these agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) are bad deals and must be re-negotiated.

Greens want to create a new era of trade agreements whose intent is not principally to benefit giant corporations but rather to help workers, consumers and the environment.

GREEN SOLUTIONS

1. Re-negotiate international trade treaties and agreements to protect and improve (harmonize up) labor and human rights, as well as health, safety, consumer, environmental and animal welfare standards.

2. Replace the anti-democratic "fast track" process with a transparent new process that requires far more congressional involvement and oversight.

3. Oppose all trade agreements that contain special protections for pharmaceutical companies to limit affordable access of generic medicines; service sector privatization and deregulation requirements; bans on Buy American and anti-sweat shop or environmental procurement policies; new rights and privileges for foreign investors to promote offshoring and expose domestic health and environmental laws to attacks in foreign tribunals; or infringe on the sovereignty of federal, state or local governments.

4. Forgive the IMF/WB debts of the poorest nations of our planet.

5. Advocate for workers' rights to organize, create unions and negotiate with management in all countries receiving U.S. investment.

6. Require U.S. corporations that operate in other countries to provide a safe work environment and just compensation to their non-U.S. workers.

2004 PLATFORM TEXT ON TRADE

We urge our government to do the following:

a. Re-formulate all international trade relations and commerce as currently upheld by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB), and the nascent Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) to protect the labor, human rights, economy, environment and domestic industry of partner and recipient nations so that the growth of local industry and agriculture has the advantage over foreign corporate domination.

b. Re-structure the rules of performance of the IMF/WB to end the debts of recipient nations, and to install strict standards in the IMF/WB that control the use of grants or loans to prevent fraud, misuse, and subversion of funds by recipient governments.

c. Re-write the rules for investment of corporate capital in projects operated under the IMF/WB to guarantee the rights of the citizens of the nations receiving the investment and their right to public ownership and control of their own resources.

d. Mandate and protect labor’s right to organize, create unions and negotiate with management in all countries receiving U.S. investment, and require U.S. corporations that operate in other countries to guarantee those workers the same rights that American workers enjoy.

e. Legislate and enable oversight by an independent agency or a labor union to verify that foreign workers’ rights are protected.

f. At home, secure the rights of our states to establish stricter standards for health, safety, and for the environment than those of our national government, and to protect themselves against substandard, imported goods.

g. Secure the right of states and municipalities to refuse to invest in foreign businesses that do not abide by their standards for imported goods, fair trade, and environmental protection.

h. Prohibit U.S. corporations from avoiding or evading payment of their taxes by banking abroad or locating their charters offshore.

i. Every day over $1 trillion dollars circles the globe in currency trade – wreaking havoc on low-economy nations – without obligation to sustainable investment. We seek to restrict the unfettered flow of capital and currency trade, and levy the Tobin tax of .05% on cross border currency transactions. [See section E. 2. Fair Taxation on page 62 in chapter IV]

j. We support the funding and expansion of non-government organizations (NGOs) in their missions to educate and train people of less developed nations in initiating local business and economic development, and in providing health care and family planning.

k. Under the agency of the United Nations, we demand that our government renew and initiate government funding and support for family planning, contraception, and abortion in all countries that request it.

l. We reject the U.S. government’s economic blockade of Cuba. We ask the U.S. Congress to lift the embargo and restore normal diplomatic relations and respect for national sovereignty, and demand that the U.S. government end its veto of U.N. resolutions pertaining to Cuba.