Reply #28: Obama voted against CAFTA [View All]

And if you read his current book, he goes into a lot of depth about valid concerns on both sides of the issue. He eventually sums it up this way:

"I am optimistic about the long-term prospects for the US economy and the ability of US workers to complete in a free trade environment- but only if we distribute the costs and benefits of globalization more fairly across the population."

I take this to mean free, but fair trade. CAFTA doesn't provide that, so he voted no.

Davis makes some good points, but we also need to look at US exports and how tariffs on imports could negatively impact major US exporters, such as the beef industry. Tariffs work both ways. And it's unrealistic to think we can impose tariffs and automatically rebuild a manufacturing community that has been hit so hard by globalization. Much of our manufacturing sector is simply gone. Where does the capital to rebuild come from? What happens if China objects to the tariffs by collecting on the debt we owe them?

Again, I'm certainly no supporter of CAFTA or NAFTA. At the same time, I recognize that the genie's out of the bottle and our nation's economy is a part of a global economy, whether we like it or not. The plight of American workers today pales in comparison to what would happen to the American worker if our nation's economy completely collapses. Of course, maybe it's already a foregone conclusion and we're just prolonging the suffering. It's a tough call.