Blumenauer Letter on Peru FTA Passage

For years, I have been fighting against the Bush trade policy and for trade that is better for working families, the environment and poor people at home and abroad.

After 2006, Congress said no more trade deals unless they met long-standing Democratic demands for workers rights and the environment.   After months of difficult negotiations, the administration agreed to every Democratic demand.

This week, Congress passed a trade agreement that for the first time contains fully enforceable labor and environmental standards. In my new position on the House Ways and Means Committee, I worked to include these landmark provisions because I am committed to advancing a new type of trade that addresses Oregon’s concerns.
The U.S.-Peru Trade Agreement is not an extension of CAFTA, which I voted against. Instead, it is a groundbreaking agreement that helps workers in Oregon and Peru, protects the environment, and strengthens our economy:
 
LABOR
According to the AFL-CIO, “The Peru Free Trade Agreement marks an important step toward a trade model that will benefit working people in both countries.” (Maybe he didn't read the whole letter)

We know that when done right, trade can be used to help lift working people out of poverty and strengthen local economies. For the first time ever, Congress has passed a landmark agreement that includes international labor standards that are 100% enforceable.   The Peru Trade Agreement required that both the United States and Peru enforce core International Labor Organization standards that are indeed part of the Agreement.  It also prohibits both countries from weakening their labor laws to attract trade or investment.  In fact, Congressional Democrats insisted that Peru make significant changes to its labor laws to bring them in line with international labor standards before Congress would vote on the agreement.
 
As a member of the Ways and Means Committee – which is responsible for these agreements – I believe that the Peru Trade Agreement marks a new threshold for international labor standards that future trade deals will be expected to meet or exceed.
 
OREGON ECONOMY
With almost 400,000 Oregon jobs tied directly to international trade, trade is significant to our state and regional economy. While most of Peru’s exports enter the U.S. duty-free, many American exports to Peru face tariffs as high as 30%. The agreement will help reduce our trade deficit by eliminating barriers to American exports. The International Trade Commission estimates that the Peru Trade Agreement will increase U.S. exports by $1.1 billion, grow U.S. GDP by $2.1 billion, and reduce the trade deficit by over $600 million.
 
ENVIRONMENT
Oregon was just ranked one of the nation’s greenest states by Forbes Magazine.  I am proud of our leadership to protect the environment but we can do more to promote environmental protection throughout the world.  Many environmental organizations agree that the Peru Trade Agreement gives us new tools to protect global natural resources.
 
According to a collection of environmental organizations, among them the Center for International Environmental Law, Defenders of Wildlife, EarthJustice, Environmental Investigation Agency, Friends of the Earth, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Sierra Club, “the environmental provisions included in the final text of the Peru Trade Agreement mark a significant step forward, and we commend the Democratic leadership for this achievement.”
 
I worked very hard to make sure that fully enforceable environmental requirements were included in the Peru Trade Agreement. Like the labor standards, these environmental provisions are not recommendations; they are stringent laws that must be enforced and they are already beginning to have an impact.  Click here to read more about how some of the Amazon has been saved from oil and gas exploration because of the Peru Trade Agreement.
 
PERUVIAN FARMERS
I am deeply concerned about the impact of America’s subsidies on poor farmers, which is why I have been working to reform farm policy and the Farm Bill here at home. The Peru Trade Agreement has built-in provisions that protect Peruvian farmers with a 17-year phase-in as the nation opens its agricultural markets. We need to get our own house in order.  When the House debated the 2007 Farm Bill, I lead the fight to reform our agricultural subsidy system in order to ensure more honest and fair trade, protect family farmers at home and abroad, and increase investments in critical nutrition, conservation, and rural development programs. With more attention turning to U.S. farm policy with regards to trade, energy and the environment, I will continue to focus on reforming our country’s farm subsidy programs.
The U.S.-Peru Trade Agreement sets a new higher standard for all future trade negotiations, and provides a benefit to Oregon’s economy. This new Congress is not passing trade deals in the style of the Bush administration. Instead, we are moving in a new direction, achieving long-standing demands on labor and environmental standards, and setting the stage for more far-reaching victories in all future trade agreements.

Sincerely,
Earl Blumenauer
Member of Congress