Senate Democrats back Obama on trade deals delay

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/24/us-usa-trade-deals-idUSTRE74M4UD20110524

(Reuters) - Forty-one Senate Democrats told President Barack Obama on Monday they agreed with his decision to not send three free-trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama to Congress until Republicans agree to renew an expanded worker-retraining program.

"We recognize, as you do, that such a deal will be challenging to secure because it requires significant bipartisan commitments in both chambers of Congress to vote in favor of a TAA (Trade Adjustment Assistance) extension," the senators said in a letter.

"The challenge is worth it. We agree with you that strengthening the safety net for the middle class by extending TAA should be a prerequisite for consideration of new trade agreements," the senators said.

The letter from more than three-quarters of the 51 Democrats in the Senate shows the hard bargaining that is still needed to win approval of the free-trade agreements with the three nations remaining from the administration of former President George W. Bush.

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53% in US Say Free Trade Hurts Nation: NBC/WSJ Poll

And yet it's hard or impossible to find anyone from either party to vote for who can be expected to oppose more free trade agreements. Now why do you think this is so?

and our political system and media is dominated by corporate interests who are free market fundamentalists. Also, most people dont even realize there is any sort of alternative. I would say maybe 1 in 100 people in this country are even aware of what the term "fair-trade" means.

http://people-press.org/2010/11/09/public-support-for-increased-trade-except-with-south-korea-and-china/



The public is of two minds when it comes to trade with other countries. Most Americans say that increased trade with Canada, Japan and European Union countries – as well as India, Brazil and Mexico – would be good for the United States. But reactions are mixed to increased trade with South Korea and China.

Support for free trade agreements is now at one of its lowest points in 13 years of Pew Research Center surveys. In 2008, an identical percentage (35%) said free trade agreements were good for the U.S. Support for free trade agreements had increased last year, to 44% in April and 43% in November, despite the struggling economy.



Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who agree with the Tea Party have a particularly negative view of the impact of free trade agreements. Only about a quarter of Republicans who agree with the Tea Party (24%) say that free trade agreements like NAFTA and the policies of the WTO have been a good thing for the United States, while 63% say they have been a bad thing.

Americans are in favor of fair trade. What most of us are opposed to is wide open free trade agreements with no tariffs or any other kind of protection for US workers. There are those who try to conflate the two concepts, to make it seem that public opinion is something that it is not. Even worse, they try to make people believe that we must embrace free trade agreements if we want to participate in any form of international trade.

worry about worker retraining when the their jobs are outsourced! Perfect.