| Once again, a White House was trying to push through a trade agreement behind closed doors with no enforceable labor standards. The good news is, this time we put a stop to it.
No one understands the consequences of decades of bad trade deals like Ohio workers. I’ve always been clear: no trade deals without strong, enforceable labor standards — standards that guarantee Ohio workers a real, level playing field.
That’s almost never the case. It’s why I was so concerned with the trade portion of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a new agreement being negotiated with countries in the Pacific. It was shaping up to be more of the same: a trade deal with no real labor standards and nothing on trade enforcement.
So I made it clear to the administration that the trade portion of the agreement was unacceptable, and they backed off and decided not to move forward.
Instead of negotiating trade deals behind closed doors, we should be working to create a level playing field, so that American workers can compete. Before we can have any kind of discussion about trade with these countries, we need to have stronger rules and enforcement in place.
Ohioans know my values and they know where I stand. I’ve fought against bad deal after bad deal, negotiated by presidents of both parties, on behalf of Ohio workers. That will never change. |
