Edwards touts trade policy for workers
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Edwards touts trade policy for workers
By HOLLY RAMER, Associated Press Writer
24 minutes ago
With intensity that matched the heat, Democratic presidential hopeful John
Edwards continued his scorching criticism of special interests Saturday,
telling voters his trade policies would work for them, not big corporations.
As temperatures hit the upper 90s, the former senator wondered jokingly
whether he actually was in his home state of North Carolina before turning
serious.
“The question that has been asked as we negotiate our international trade
deals has been: ‘Is this good for the profits of big multinational
corporations?’ That’s the wrong question,” he said outside an elementary school. “The
question should be: ‘Is this trade agreement good for working middle-class
Americans?’”
Edwards said he will insist that the nation’s trade partners meet strict
labor and environmental standards and will enact regulations barring other
countries from manipulating their currencies.
“And we’re going to close down these tax loopholes that actually give
incentives to take jobs and go overseas,” he said. “This is crazy.”
In response to an audience question later, Edwards said the measures he
outlined would help reduce the nation’s debt to China. He said he also would push
to enforce existing laws that require goods to be labeled with their country
of origin, encourage people to buy locally and give the government more
authority to inspect products and food from elsewhere.
“We all know the problems we’ve seen with Chinese toys and Chinese food
products coming into this country,” he said. “The basic idea is to have a trade
policy that works and to be clearer that we have not just smart trade but safe
trade, where we actually identify problems and encourage people to buy
locally because it’s good for the American economy.”
Three days into a four-day bus trip of the state, Edwards has been framing
his campaign as a fight against the lobbyists and other “Washington insiders”
he argues stand between Americans and change. After his brief remarks on trade
policy, he took questions, often bringing the subject back to his universal
health care policy.
Edwards supports a plan that he estimates would cost $90 billion to $120
billion a year. Employers would be required to cover their workers or pay into a
government insurance fund, and workers would get to choose among plans.
Asked how he’d get it through Congress, Edwards said he would be flexible on
the details as long as the final plan ensured all Americans would be covered.
Edwards said he also would tell the public not to be swayed by the millions
of dollars he predicted health insurers will spend on ads criticizing his
plan.
“Every time you see one, I want you to ask yourself who’s paying for them?”
he said. “The very people who are charging you so much for your health care.”
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