President Bush on Free Trade and TAA
Nov 6, 2007
At a White House Forum on International Trade and Investment earlier today, President Bush made his case for free trade and called on Congress to approve four pending agreements with Peru, Colombia, Panama and South Korea.
The President also asked the executives and association leaders in attendance to help the Administration "do a better job of educating [American] people about the benefits of free and fair trade." Help that appears to be needed...according to The Wall Street Journal, a poll it conducted with NBC in September revealed that nearly 60% of respondents believed that trade was bad for the economy.
One of the most common criticisms of free trade has been that globalization displaces American workers. A concern that the President tried to address by voicing his support for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), the federal program designed to offer training and financial assistance to U.S. workers that loss their jobs as a result of trade.
He vowed to work with Congress to "reauthorize and improve" the TAA program, though the White House has already threatened to veto a bill that recently passed the House that would extend TAA benefits to service workers who aren't currently eligible. Industry association CompTIA has been among those backing new rules to offer IT employees in the service sector the same support offered to displaced manufacturing workers.
For more on the President's remarks, check out The Wall Street Journal (sub required).
Tags:
CompTIA, TAA, Trade, White House
