Organizing for America

Fact Check on Fortune Article Claim that Obama believes ''NAFTA not so bad after all''

WHAT OBAMA ACTUALLY SAID IN THE FORTUNE INTERVIEW:

Obama: My Core Position Has Never Changed That "I've Always Been A Proponent Of Free Trade And I've Always Been A Believer That We Have To Have Strong Environmental Provisions And Strong Labor Provisions In Our Trade Agreements." Obama said, "But my core position has never changed. It's been consistent if you look all the way through. I've always been a proponent in free trade and I've always been a believer that we have to have strong environmental provisions and strong labor provisions in our trade agreements. And that we gotta be better arguers. You know the Chinese love free trade. But they are tough as nails when it comes to (inaudible). Right? I mean they will resist any calls to stop manipulating the currency. It's no secret they have consistently crouched on our intellectual property and our copyright laws. There are all sorts of non tariff barriers. Now that doesn't make them antitrade it just means they're just trying to work the systems to their advantage and my only point has been that we should make sure begin our trade negotiations that our interests and our values are adequately reflected." [Fortune Interview, 6/18/08]

Obama: There May Be A Modest Aggregate Benefit In Terms Of Lowering Prices For Consumers But NAFTA Had An Adverse Affect On Certain Communities That Saw Jobs Move To Mexico And Millions Of People In Mexico Were Displaced And Are Contributing To The Immigration Crisis. Obama said, "I'm not a big believer in just doing things unilaterally; I'm a big believer in opening up a dialogue and figuring out how we can make this work for all people. And by the way, just going back to NAFTA for a second, I don't dispute that there may have been some modest aggregate benefit in terms of lowering prices on consumer goods for example. But I would also argue that not only did it have an adverse affect on certain communities that saw jobs move down to Mexico but for example our agricultural section pretty much devastated a much less efficient Mexican farming system. But from a pure economic, you know if you're just an economist looking at this in an abstract way you would say well a more efficient producer displaced a less efficient producer in Mexico, there's nothing wrong with that. As a practical matter those are millions of people in Mexico who are displaced. Many of whom now are moving up to the United States, contributing to the immigration concerns that people are feeling. And so, those human factors should be taken into account. They may not override or every single decision that we make in respect to trade, but to pretend those costs aren't there, that those costs aren't real, and my job as president to take those into account, I think, does no service to free trade. And its part of what has fed the protection incentive and the anti-immigration incentive that is out there in both parts and you know I think that if we manage trade more effectively, if we're better partners, if we are thinking about the dislocations that occurs as a consequence of it, if were true to our belief that labor and environmental standards should be a part of raising living standards around the world instead of a race to the bottom, then we can have free trade and it will be sustainable and we will have political support over the long run." [Fortune Interview, 6/18/08]

BUT OBAMA HAS BEEN CONSISTENT:

HE WOULD NOT REPEAL NAFTA...

Obama Would Not Scrap NAFTA. The AP reported, "Obama was also pressed on trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement. He said he disagrees with more liberal rivals such as Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who want to scrap the deal. A better approach is tougher enforcement of labor and environmental standards, he said." [AP, 9/22/07]

Obama Said That Repealing NAFTA Would "Probably Result In More Job Losses Than Job Gains." The Chicago Tribune reported, "Obama, when asked whether he would repeal NAFTA, has said business relationships among the countries were now so entrenched that reversing the trade deal "would probably result in more jobs losses in the United States than job gains." Instead, he said the treaty should be amended." [Chicago Tribune, 2/26/08]

BUT HAS REPEATEDLY SAID HE WOULD RENEGOTIATE IT TO PROVIDE BETTER LABOR AND ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS

Obama Said That He Would Use The Hammer Of A Potential Opt-Out As Leverage To Renegotiate Labor And Environmental Standards For NAFTA. Obama said, "I will make sure that we renegotiate, in the same way that Senator Clinton talked about. And I think actually Senator Clinton's answer on this one is right. I think we should use the hammer of a potential opt-out as leverage to ensure that we actually get labor and environmental standards that are enforced. And that is not what has been happening so far." [Ohio Debate, 2/26/08]

Obama Said He Would Support Renegotiating NAFTA. "Obama said, if elected, he would press for NAFTA's renegotiation because the current deal contains inadequate labor and environmental standards. 'As part of any current or future trade agreement negotiations, our nation must address the dislocations caused by expanded global trade,' Obama said, 'by maintaining workers' basic benefits and helping them retrain and by providing communities hit with plant closings with tools and strategies to remain viable.'" [Chicago Tribune, 9/27/04]

Obama Said As President He Would Contact Mexico And Canada's Leaders "To Try To Amend NAFTA." The AP reported, "I would immediately call the president of Mexico, the president of Canada, to try to amend NAFTA, because I think that we can get labor agreements in that agreement right now. And it should reflect the basic principle that our trade agreements should not just be good for Wall Street; it should also be good for Main Street." [AP, 8/8/07]

Obama Would Renegotiate NAFTA. Obama said, "I will make sure that we renegotiate...I think we should use the hammer of a potential opt-out as leverage to ensure that we actually get labor and environmental standards that are enforced. And that is not what has been happening so far. That is something that I have been consistent about. I have to say, Tim, with respect to my position on this, when I ran for the United States Senate, the Chicago Tribune, which was adamantly pro-NAFTA, noted that, in their endorsement of me, they were endorsing me despite my strong opposition to NAFTA...And as president, what I want to be is an advocate on behalf of workers. Look, you know, when I go to these plants, I meet people who are proud of their jobs. They are proud of the products that they've created. They have built brands and profits for their companies. And when they see jobs shipped overseas and suddenly they are left not just without a job, but without health care, without a pension, and are having to look for seven-buck-an-hour jobs at the local fast-food joint, that is devastating on them, but it's also devastating on the community. That's not the way that we're going to prosper as we move forward." [Democratic Debate, 2/27/08]

Obama Said NAFTA And CAFTA Were Not In The Best Interest Of The American Worker "Because They Did Not Contain The Sorts Of Labor Provisions And Environmental Provisions" That They Should Have. "The AP reported, "Obama said he supports the foreign trade deal, which is especially important to labor and U.S. manufacturers. He said active trading is a key way to keep the United States competitive. 'We're not going to draw a moat around the United States' economy. If we do that, then China is still trading, India is still going to be trading,' said Obama, who voted against the recent Central American Free Trade Agreement and opposes the pending trade deal with South Korea. 'I think that NAFTA and CAFTA did not reflect the interests of American workers but reflected the interests of the stock owners on Wall Street, because they did not contain the sorts of labor provisions and environmental provisions that should have been embedded and should have been enforceable in those agreements,' he said." [AP, 10/10/07]