TRADE Act Fact Sheet
H.R. 6180/S. 3083:
The TRADE Act
(Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment Act)
TRADE Act Addresses American Public's Demand for Change During Presidential
Campaign With a New Way Forward on Trade, Globalization
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine) have worked with an array of labor,
environmental, consumer, faith and family farm organizations to develop a bill that presents a progressive
vision of what a good trade agreement must and must not include. This initiative sets forth what we are for -
shutting down the bogus claim that we are anti-trade or have no alternative vision because we oppose the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), World Trade
Organization (WTO) and similar damaging trade agreements.
What does the bill do?
The TRADE Act requires a review of existing trade pacts, including NAFTA, the WTO and other major pacts,
and sets forth what must and must not be included in future trade pacts. It also provides for the
renegotiation of existing trade agreements and describes the key elements of a new trade negotiating andapproval mechanism to replace Fast Track that would enhance Congress' role in the formative aspects of
agreements and promote future deals that could enjoy broad support among the American public.
The TRADE Act shifts the debate towards discussing a new trade and globalization model. It moves beyond
repeatedly fighting against expansions of the old failed model and sets a marker for where discussion should
start with a new Congress and president in 2009. One of our nation's greatest challenges is to create new rules
for globalization that ensure economic security and the creation of quality jobs here, while offering
opportunities for sustainable development in poor countries. Such rules would counter rising income inequality
and the threats our current policies pose to national security, our shared global environment, public health and
safety, and democratic accountability.
We must take action now to shape the future debate. The TRADE Act recognizes the Democratic presidential
candidates' calls to renegotiate some pacts and brings Congress into this process.
The TRADE ACT includes:
Section 2: Lists of which trade agreements must be reviewed and definitions of the labor and environmental
standards all agreements must contain.
Section 3: Requirements for the Government Accountability Office to conduct a comprehensive review
of existing major trade agreements by June 10, 2010, including economic outcomes in the U.S. and abroad and
various security and social indicators. The TRADE Act also requires an analysis of how the current agreements
measure up against the detailed description in the bill of what must and must not be included in future U.S.
trade agreements.
Section 4: Labor, environment, food and product safety standards; national security exceptions; and trade
remedy and federalism protections that must be included in all American trade pacts. Because NAFTA-model
trade agreements extend far beyond traditional trade matters, this section also sets requirements with respect to
public services, farm policy, investment, government procurement, and affordable medicines.
Section 5: Requirement for the president to submit renegotiation plans to remedy the gaps identified by the
Comptroller General between our current pacts and the criteria for good agreements listed in section 4 prior to
negotiating new agreements and prior to congressional consideration of pending agreements.
Section 6: Establishment of a committee comprised of the chairs and ranking members of each committee
whose jurisdiction is implicated by today's expansive "trade" agreements to review the president's plan for
renegotiations.
Section 7: A sense-of-the-Congress provision that sets out criteria for a new mechanism to replace the Fast
Track negotiating process. To obtain agreements that benefit a wider array of interests, this new process
includes Congress setting readiness criteria to select future negotiating partners; mandatory negotiating
objectives based on the Section 4 criteria of what must be and must not be in future trade agreements; and the
requirements that Congress must certify that the objectives were met, and then vote on an agreement before it
can be signed. These criteria for a new trade negotiating mechanism to replace Fast Track have been supported
in AFL-CIO, Change to Win and National Farmers Union resolutions.
TRADE Act support:
AFL-CIO
Change to Win
Communication Workers of America
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace
Workers
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
International Union of Painters and Allied Trades
United Steelworkers
UNITE-HERE
United Methodist Church General Board of Church and
Society
Friends of the Earth
Sierra Club
National Farmers Union
National Family Farm Coalition
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Americans for Democratic Action
Public Citizen
Citizens Trade Campaign
House Original Cosponsors:
1. Collin Peterson
2. Nick Rahall
3. John Conyers
4. Robert Brady
5. Bob Filner
6. John Murtha
7. Rosa DeLauro
8. Maurice Hinchey
9. Bill Delahunt
10. Jan Schakowsky
11. Linda Sanchez
12. Tim Holden
13. Mike Ross
14. Peter Visclosky
15. Danny Davis
16. Dale Kildee
17. Raul Grijalva
18. Lynn Woolsey
19. Peter DeFazio
20. Heath Shuler
21. Bruce Braley
22. Dave Loebsack
23. John Hall
24. Tim Ryan
25. Nancy Boyda
26. Hank Johnson
27. John Sarbanes
28. Phil Hare
29. Betty Sutton
30. Jesse Jackson
31. Dan Lipinski
32. Keith Ellison
33. Gene Green
34. Al Green
35. Hilda Solis
36. Ben Chandler
37. Carolyn Kilpatrick
38. Gwen Moore
39. Mike Doyle
40. Emmanuel Cleaver
41. Tom Allen
42. Stephen Lynch
43. Walter Jones
44. Tammy Baldwin
45. Marcy Kaptur
46. Dennis Kucinich
47. Carol Shea-Porter
48. Mazie Hirono
49. Michael Arcuri
50. Patrick Murphy
51. Steve Kagen
52. Charlie Wilson
53. Frank Pallone
Sponsor:
Michael Michaud
Senate Original Cosponsors:
1. Byron Dorgan 2. Russ Feingold 3. Bob Casey 4. Sheldon Whitehouse Sponsor: Sherrod Brown
