Warren Blasts Obama On Trade Enforcement

On Monday, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released a 15-page report detailing over two decades of failed enforcement by the U.S. of labor and environmental standards included in past free trade agreements (FTAs).

The report, Broken Promises: Decades of Failure to Enforce Labor Standards in Free Trade Agreements, highlights that the U.S. failed to pursue enforcement actions to uphold the labor protections in trade agreements including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), and agreements with Colombia, Panama and Peru.

“Supporters of past trade agreements have said again and again that these deals would include strong protections for workers, but assurances without strong enforcement are just empty promises,” Senator Warren said. "The facts show that, despite all the promises, these trade deals were just another tool to tilt the playing field in further of multinational corporations and against working families.”

The report includes analysis of a series of reports by government auditors and other experts revealing that past Presidents from both parties have failed to resolve or prevent abuses in countries that the U.S. is in agreement with.

Warren's report follows recent remarks by President Barack Obama that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will be the most progressive trade bill in history” and that it will have “higher labor standards, higher environmental standards,” and “new tools to hold countries accountable.”

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