Trading Away America: Time For a Trade Policy
That Works for Main Street, Not Just Wall Street
THE FACTS
America has lost millions of jobs due to trade policies designed for multinationals, not for the nation. Every year, about 400,000 American jobs are lost because of our foreign trade policy—and that number takes into account employment created by increased exports [Dean Baker, The American Prospect; Associated Press]. The manufacturing sector has been hit the hardest, with 3.4 million jobs—one out of every five manufacturing jobs—shipped overseas over the past seven years. Under current policies, as many as 40 million more jobs will be at risk over the next 10 to 20 years [Associated Press].
America's trade deficit has nearly doubled during the Bush presidency. Last year's trade deficit was $711 billion compared to $365 billion in 2001 [U.S. Census Bureau]. In 2007, the trade deficit with China alone hit a record $256 billion [U.S. Census Bureau]. Almost half of our trade deficit—$327 billion—is attributable to oil imports [Petroleum Intelligence Weekly]. To finance this debt, we must either borrow from countries like China or sell off American assets at the rate of $2 billion every single day.
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THE FACTS
America has lost millions of jobs due to trade policies designed for multinationals, not for the nation. Every year, about 400,000 American jobs are lost because of our foreign trade policy—and that number takes into account employment created by increased exports [Dean Baker, The American Prospect; Associated Press]. The manufacturing sector has been hit the hardest, with 3.4 million jobs—one out of every five manufacturing jobs—shipped overseas over the past seven years. Under current policies, as many as 40 million more jobs will be at risk over the next 10 to 20 years [Associated Press].
America's trade deficit has nearly doubled during the Bush presidency. Last year's trade deficit was $711 billion compared to $365 billion in 2001 [U.S. Census Bureau]. In 2007, the trade deficit with China alone hit a record $256 billion [U.S. Census Bureau]. Almost half of our trade deficit—$327 billion—is attributable to oil imports [Petroleum Intelligence Weekly]. To finance this debt, we must either borrow from countries like China or sell off American assets at the rate of $2 billion every single day.
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