Edwards condemns trade policies

From the Edwards Camp....Today, on the fourteenth anniversary of NAFTA, Senator John Edwards delivered remarks condemning NAFTA and other failed trade policies that put the interests of multinational corporations ahead of the needs of working families. At a town hall meeting in Derry, New Hampshire, Edwards said that growing up in North Carolina, he saw the effects of unfair trade and failed economic policies when the mill where he and his father worked shut down. And as president, Edwards said he will give America a trade policy that puts the interests of American workers and communities at its core.

“Fourteen years ago today, the treaty creating NAFTA was signed into law,” said Edwards. “NAFTA was sold to the American people with promises that it would grow the economy and create millions of new jobs. But today, we know those promises were empty. NAFTA has actually cost us more than 1 million American jobs. NAFTA has failed Mexico and Canada too. In all three countries, it has hurt workers and families while helping corporate insiders.

“NAFTA also paved the way for a series of unfair trade deals that have helped create an American economy that is not working for American workers and families,” Edwards continued. “When I’m president, we aren’t going to judge trade deals based on government statistics or corporate bottom lines. Instead, we’re going to look at the impact of trade deals on hard-working families.”