From the Kerry Page: The Truth About Edward's Positions On Trade

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John Edwards on Trade
February 19, 2004
http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0219d.html

“I'm against protectionism. I think that's putting your head in the sand.” John Edwards, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2/13/04

“An examination of Edwards' trade record does show differences with Kerry. It also shows Edwards has not been as adamantly opposed to free trade as his words might suggest.”


“In any case, the senator's own record on trade agreements is somewhat mixed. He supported loosened trade restrictions with China in 2000 because, he has said, farmers and high-technology businesses in his home state stood to benefit. And though he says he campaigned against Nafta in his 1998 Senate race, he did not make it a central issue.”

Edwards claimed to have “CAMPAIGNED” against NAFTA, but he was a private trial lawyer at the time. In fact his staff can’t even produce real evidence he campaigned on the issue in his 1998 Senate race.

Edwards voted FOR the China trade deal, even while acknowledging that he thought jobs would be lost Edwards changed his mind FOUR times on Fast Track authority for the president.
The Truth

“But Edwards, a senator from North Carolina, has a far more nuanced record on international trade than his rhetoric would suggest, supporting some trade initiatives and opposing others during his five years in office.” <“Edwards' Track Record on Trade Has Lane Changes,” Los Angeles Times, 2/18/04>

Edwards Voted For China Trade Deal
Edwards voted for Permanent Normal Trading Relations (previously known as Most Favored Nation status) for China in 2000.

“In his first major congressional vote on trade, Edwards voted for a controversial trade accord with China in September 2000 that was bitterly opposed by organized labor.” <“Edwards' Track Record on Trade Has Lane Changes,” Los Angeles Times, 2/18/04>

“And he rarely mentions a trade-liberalization measure he did vote for, as did Kerry - a 2000 measure giving China elevated trade status. Far more U.S. jobs have been lost to China and other Asian nations than to Mexico or Canada, the countries covered by NAFTA, economists suggest.”

Edwards said at the time:

“I believe that granting permanent normal trade relations with China is the right thing to do.”

“But I am mindful that globalization and this bill in particular may have a real downside. As a Senator from North Carolina, I am well-positioned to see both the enormous benefits and the large costs of this measure”

“However, there is no doubt that an additional burden will be placed on the textile industry.”
Hedging To Last Moment, Edwards Voted For The China Deal

“Edwards waited to announce his position on the bill until the day of the vote.”
Hedging To Last Moment, Edwards Voted For The China Deal

“Edwards waited to announce his position on the bill until the day of the vote.”


China Trade Deal Led To Largest Layoff In NC History
The layoffs of thousands at Pillowtex in the summer of 2003 were the “largest permanent layoff in N.C. history”

“At a news conference after his meeting, Edwards said he had no second thoughts about voting in 2000 for permanent normal trade relations with China. Critics say the measure has contributed to floods of cheap Chinese imports.”

“Pillowtex is just the latest in a long line of textile companies that have fallen prey to low-cost manufacturers abroad, particularly in Asia. Recent bankruptcies include Burlington Industries and WestPoint Stevens. Textile leaders say their industry has lost 271,000 jobs since 2001.” News & Record, 7/31/03]

Edwards, On Campaign Trail, Was Last To Visit Site Of Layoffs
“Edwards has faced criticism for not doing enough since the Pillowtex shutdown was announced July 30. When he emerged from the private meeting, he said he had sent a letter to Bush pressing him to release $38 million to help laid-off workers continue their health insurance and receive job retraining. Asked why he did not visit sooner, Edwards said he had been working behind the scenes for months to try to find a buyer for the troubled textile firm.”

Edwards Changed Mind Four Times on Fast Track

“But Edwards said he voted against other trade measures in the Senate that Kerry supported, including fast-track negotiating authority for the president.”

FLIP: Edwards Said He Might Vote For Fast Track
“On the issue of trade, Edwards, Martin and Scarborough all voiced opposition to the "fast track" legislation that would have given President Clinton more authority to negotiate trade negotiations but that was rejected by Congress last year. They said fast track legislation contained too few provisions to require U.S. trading partners to protect the environment or to provide good working conditions. But Edwards and Martin said they might support some other version of the bill.”

FLOP: Edwards Said He Wouldn’t Vote For It
“If Mr. Edwards were elected, we're confident we'd agree with him more often than not. But on at least two important issues we don't: He says he would have voted against the North American Free Trade Agreement (as did Sen. Faircloth) and he wouldn't support fast-track authority for the president. Every president starting with Gerald Ford in 1974 has had that authority; we consider it a valuable tool in trade negotiations.”
FLIP: Edwards Voted For Fast Track
“U.S. Sen. John Edwards, a Democrat from North Carolina, voted against fast-track in 2002 after voting for an earlier version.”

Edwards voted for passage of the bill that would extend duty-free status to certain products from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, renew the president's fast-track authority and reauthorize and expand a program to provide retraining and relocation assistance to U.S. workers hurt by trade agreements. It also would create a refundable 70 percent tax credit for health insurance costs for displaced workers, and authorize a five-year extension of the Generalized System of Preferences. <5/23/02, HR 3009, Vote #130>

FLOP: Edwards Voted Against Fast Track
“U.S. Sen. John Edwards, a Democrat from North Carolina, voted against fast-track in 2002 after voting for an earlier version.”

Edwards voted against adoption of the conference report on the bill that would allow special trade promotion authority for congressional consideration of trade agreements reached prior to June 1, 2005, and extend duty-free status to certain products from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. It also would reauthorize and expand a program to provide retraining assistance to U.S. workers hurt by trade agreements, create a 65 percent tax credit for health insurance costs for displaced workers, and authorize a five-year extension of the Generalized System of Preferences. <8/1/02, HR 3009, Senate Vote # 207>

Edwards Claims He Would Have Voted Against NAFTA...Or Did He Just Have Reservations About It?

“Edwards also voiced reservations about the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, because he said it was leading to the loss of American jobs overseas. "I have serious reservations about NAFTA," Edwards said.”

How Exactly Did Edwards CAMPAIGN Against NAFTA?

Edwards was a trial lawyer in 1993 when NAFTA was passed, and there isn’t a lot of evidence he campaigned on the issue in 1998 either. “Edwards routinely tells audiences that as a Senate candidate, he ‘campaigned against NAFTA,’ which had been signed into law four years earlier…Aides could not point to a particular event or mailing designed to highlight Edwards' views on the subject during the Senate race.”

“In comments to reporters after a rally at the South Milwaukee Community Center, Edwards said he first publicly spoke in opposition to NAFTA during his 1998 race. He said he couldn't recall whether it was in answer to a question or in a speech. "I know I clearly said I was opposed to NAFTA then," Edwards said.”

“There is little evidence that he made NAFTA a major issue in his 1998 campaign” <“Edwards' Track Record on Trade Has Lane Changes,” Los Angeles Times, 2/18/04>

“Nor has Edwards filled the Congressional Record with anti-NAFTA speeches since he took office in 1999. Lawmakers often give speeches for the Congressional Record, or insert them in writing, on topics near to their heart. In his first major congressional vote on trade, Edwards voted for a controversial trade accord with China in September 2000 that was bitterly opposed by organized labor.”

<“Edwards' Track Record on Trade Has Lane Changes,” Los Angeles Times, 2/18/04>

“ ‘What I've said is when I campaigned in '98 — since I wasn't in the Congress when passed — I campaigned and I was against NAFTA,’ he said in the interview. But he said it was not a major part of his Senate campaign”.

“Edwards acknowledged that he was not even in politics in 1993 and played no role in the NAFTA debate. He said he campaigned against it in his 1998 Senate race but conceded during his call with reporters there is not a lot of information on the record about the trade issue in that campaign.”

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