Congressman pitches for trade policies

From Canton Repository:

Better trade policies might help solve the nation’s immigration policies, U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown suggested Monday during a campaign stop.

Brown, D-Lorain, stood at the corner of E. Maple and S. Main streets, across from the Hoover Co. headquarters, and promoted a bill aimed at limiting imports of products made in sweatshops or with prison laborers.

When Madeline Corvington, a retired teacher from Jackson Township, asked if Brown could do something to “tweak” NAFTA (the North American Fair Trade Agreement), the congressman said all U.S. trade agreements should be reviewed.

Taking American jobs to Mexico isn’t really helping either country, Brown said. There are more poor people in Mexico today than before NAFTA, he said, and that is a big reason for the growing number of Mexicans coming to the United States.

The national immigration problem won’t be solved until trade problems are solved, Brown said.

Brown is challenging two-term Republican Michael DeWine for the Senate seat.

Click here to read the full article. 

06/27/2006 / Permalink / China, Economy, Northeast Ohio, Trade, (all tags)

Rep. Brown pushes fair-trade plan

Democrat running for Senate seeks ban on sweatshop imports

From Akron-Beacon Journal:

If he hasn't already, U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown will soon be coming to a street corner near you.

Living up to his reputation as a tireless campaigner, Brown, the seven-term Democratic congressman now vying for the U.S. Senate, was in downtown North Canton on Monday, where he spent the better part of an hour speaking to literally each of the more than two dozen people who had gathered at the corner of South Main and Maple streets for a noontime news conference.

Brown, who is in a race with Republican Sen. Mike DeWine, took to the red-brick sidewalks in front of the Hoover headquarters to announce legislation he is seeking that would ban sweatshop imports.

``When we import sweatshop goods, we export Ohio jobs,'' Brown said. ``Senator DeWine has failed to stand up for middle-class families against unfair sweatshop imports. We need a zero-tolerance approach to sweatshops.''

Hoover has lost more than 2,000 salaried and hourly jobs in Stark County since 2003. The company has expanded operations in Mexico and Texas.

Brown, who introduced his Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act last month, said his aim is to protect American jobs by curtailing the trade of products produced by unfair labor practices in foreign nations.

Brown singled out China, which has been under constant fire from human rights and labor groups for sweatshop and prison labor abuses. He noted that in May, China posted a record trade surplus of $13 billion.

Click here to read the full article. 

06/27/2006 / Permalink / China, Economy, Northeast Ohio, (all tags)

Chinese Sweatshops Destroying Ohio Jobs

Brown introduces bill to curb worker abuse - DeWine silent

AMHERST -- Ohio Republican incumbent Senator Mike DeWine's silence on the loss of Ohio jobs to China continued this week as Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-Lorain County) worked to advance a new measure to end support for sweatshops in U.S. trade policy.

The legislation, the Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act (H.R. 5635), would curtail the trade of products made with sweatshop or prison labor. China, which has come under fire from international human rights and labor groups for sweatshop and prison labor abuses, posted a record-breaking trade surplus of $13 billion this May.

"Senator DeWine has failed to stand up for middle-class families against sweatshop imports," Brown said. "When we import sweatshop goods, we export Ohio jobs. We need a zero-tolerance approach to sweatshops."

06/21/2006 / Permalink / China, Economy, Jobs, (all tags)

China Trade Surplus Shatters Record

DeWine-backed trade agreements costing Ohio jobs

AMHERST -- China announced yesterday that its trade surplus for the month of May reached $13 billion, breaking its own record and demonstrating the failure of trade policies backed by Ohio Republican incumbent Senator Mike DeWine.  

The United States' trade deficit with China reached $202 billion in 2005, and is expected to reach a new high this year. China's $13 billion May trade surplus represents a 44% increase from May, 2005.

A 2005 study commissioned by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission found that Ohio lost at least 42,600 job opportunities as a result of U.S.-China trade policies between 1997 and 2003.

"Multinational corporations are reaping billions of dollars in profit by exploiting Chinese workers - and pay-to-play politicians in Washington are only too happy to look the other way," said Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-Lorain County), who is running for U.S. Senate. "The policies of Senator DeWine have failed Ohio families. We need a new direction."

06/13/2006 / Permalink / China, Jobs, Trade, (all tags)

Hu Visits White House: Brown Calls On President to Stand Up For U.S. Interests

AMHERST - On the eve of an historic visit by Communist China's President Hu Jintao to Washington D.C., Ohio Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-Lorain County) called on President George W. Bush to stand up for American workers and national security.

The U.S. has lost nearly one million jobs to China since 1997, suffered a $200 billion trade deficit with the country last year, and may be outsourcing oversight of national security assets to companies with close ties to the world's largest Communist nation.

"This administration has routinely abdicated responsibility for ensuring economic and national security," Brown said. "2006 is about change. President Bush, and his Republican allies in Congress, must decide if they stand on the side of U.S. need or multinational greed."

04/20/2006 / Permalink / China, Economy, Jobs, National Security, Trade, (all tags)