and these standards should not be subject to challenge through the WTO by other countries with weaker standards. The people of this country have the right to use economic sanctions to fight for democracy around the world as we did in South Africa, without being challenged by corporations who believe that "free-trade" is more important than social and rights. For more information about the WTO, you may want to visit the following sites:Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch FOE's Trade, Investment and the Environment http://www.seattle99.org North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA has been a disastrous policy for working people and the environment in all three signatory nations. Under NAFTA, trade deficits with Mexico and Canada have cost the United States 420,000 jobs. At the same time, hourly compensation for Mexican workers has fallen 36%. Air and water quality also continue to deteriorate in Mexico due to rapid industrialization. NAFTA is sending jobs across our border and forcing Americans to compete with Mexican workers who earn as little as $2 per day. Congressman Sanders is a co-sponsor of the "NAFTA Accountability Act," which demands that the United States withdraw from NAFTA if the proponents' promises for the trade agreement are not met. Some of the provisions in the act include: directing the President to renegotiate NAFTA if the U.S. trade balance with any of the other parties exceeds a 10 percent deficit; requiring certification of U.S. jobs and living standards attributable to NAFTA; ensuring that conditions affecting public health have improved along the U.S.-Mexican border; requiring that exports from the U.S. to NAFTA parties exceed imports from NAFTA parties; certifying that human and political rights are respected and that democratic systems exist in countries that are parties to NAFTA; and prohibiting expansion of NAFTA until the above and other standards are achieved. ...
