GE7 - THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

TOPIC 28

Reported by: Juneil M. Navarra

bs accountancy - acc1a
 What Is Citizens Trade Campaign?

The Citizens Trade Campaign (CTC) is a national coalition of

environmental, labor, consumer, family farm, religious, and other civil
society groups founded in 1992 to improve the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA). We are united in a common belief that
international trade and investment are not ends unto themselves, but
instead must be viewed as a means for achieving other societal goals
such as economic justice, human rights, healthy communities, and a
sound environment.
 Reforming Global Rules

Future World Trade Organization negotiations, including the on-going Doha Round, must be
fair to working people, farmers, American firms and the environment. The rules of our global
economy must ensure that international standards for workers, poor nations, public health,
and the environment are all improved. Our government must show leadership in ensuring
that multilateral trade rules serve the majority of Americans, while also ensuring that
developing nations can grow and prosper without compromising their own democratic and
development goals.
 Democratizing the Process

It is time to replace Fast Track with a system that ensures Congress will play a
stronger and more informed role in selecting and pursuing future trade agreements.
This redesigned process should provide for greater transparency, encourage more
democratic participation, and open up the process to the American people. We must
replace Fast Track with a system that includes criteria for determining appropriate
negotiating partners, including analysis of labor rights, environmental standards and
the state of civil society in potential countries.
 Strengthening Domestic Policies

We need to stop giving tax favors to businesses who outsource American jobs and
instead reward those that keep high-quality jobs in the country. The measures
presently incorporated in trade agreements must be actively enforced in order to
safeguard the interests of workers both domestically and internationally. To stop
dumping, we must enhance our trade agreements and make sure that the U.S. The
United States Trade Representative (USTR) takes enforcement seriously and keeps
a close eye on any attempts to rig the market or gain unfair commercial
advantages.
 Fixing Current Agreements

It's time to revisit and renegotiate the previous trade deals that didn't work out. It's
time to repair and amend the North American Free Trade Agreement because its
flaws were obvious when it was signed. NAFTA granted investors a wide range of
rights, but simply payed lip service to the significance of labor rights and
environmental protection. The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)
still has many of the same issues ten years later.
 CTC Trade Job Postings

Citizens Trade Campaign (www.citizenstrade.org) is seeking an experienced organizer

to lead its California-based campaigns on the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
and on other trade policy matters.

The California organizer will work with labor, environmental, family farm, consumer
and other social justice organizations to educate and mobilize community leaders
and constituents to participate meaningfully in these policy debates and directly
influence policymakers’ decisions. This is contract position currently funded for 2
years, with the potential to transition into a permanent California director position.
Thank You For Listening