Domestic Manufacturers And Workers Have No Voice In Crafting U.S. Trade Rules

[FreakinDJ]

Source: Richard McCormack

Domestic Manufacturers And Workers Have No Voice In Crafting U.S. Trade Rules

The federal agency that is in charge of applying trade rules continues to operate without any input from those most impacted by imports: small- and medium-sized American manufacturers and farmers and American workers. In a Senate bill that will reauthorize the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, retailers, importers, shipping companies, ports, large multinational corporations, import brokers and freight forwarders, and their law firms and lobbyists will gain even greater influence over setting the rules of U.S. trade and the internal operations of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agency.

Senate Bill S-1631 creates a new Office of Trade within the agency. Within that office, a new "Trade Advocate" will also be created to "report directly to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs." This new position will be required to consult regularly with the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) and the Trade Support Network, both comprised of members of the private sector. The CBP's Trade Office is responsible for regulations and rules regarding preferential tariff treatment under free trade agreements, "Buy American," and country-of-origin marking laws.

COAC is mentioned repeatedly and prominently in the reauthorization bill. The committee does not have any representation from domestic manufacturers, farmers or workers, groups that have been impacted by the free flow of imports.

In the bill sponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the CBP Commissioner is told that he or she must "solicit and consider on a regular basis input from the private sector including the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee." COAC is directed to provide managers of CBP with "input with respect to the agency's development and implementation of rules, regulations, decisions, notices and abstracts related to the customs and trade laws of the United States." It will assess "the effectiveness of customs facilitation and trade enforcement efforts" and support the creation of an "International Trade Data System," according to the bill.



Read more: http://www.manufacturingnews.com/news/09/1019/coac.html

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Once again Max Baucus sells out the American worker

What is this guy - A RATpubliCON in Dem's clothing

[thelayoff]

1. We lost this battle 10 years ago

We lost the manufacturing battle 10+ years ago. The manufacturing blue collar has been marginalized - their social status went into a decade long erosion and they are on their knees without influence right now. Meanwhile, the finance fat cats and lobbyist with their equity valuations directly tied to cheap Chinese goods hold unparalleled grip over our legalisature in the Washington. The system is in a special interest group choke-hold, we'll either self-implode or have a radical paradigm shifting social adjustment.

[madrchsod]

2. nafta was the last straw...

[OHdem10]

3. Absolutely. The Crisis we are experiencing at this moment with

all the job losses is direct result of globalization and our
poor trade policies. The banking crisis brought it to head
started the layoffs.

The reason we keep being told "Jobless Recovery" or the Recovery
has started but job losses will continue is direct result of
poorly planned and managed Trade Policies. We became the
primary market to buy other countries goods. However, someone
was asleep at the switch. They have sent the good paying jobs
out of country for cheaper labor. OOPS. Americans cannot
now buy all those goods. All things need balance.

Part of the goal of globalization is to "equalize" or harmonize
conditions around the world. Instead of working to bring other
countries living standards up, our standards are being harmonized
downward. Another OOOPs.

[FreakinDJ]

4. Trade Imbalance is what caused the current crisis

and none of the talking heads will even utter a word about it.

I'm afraid we can toss all the recovery money we can print at the problem but until we address this issue its all a mute point