Ill. GOP: Giannoulias call to reopen NAFTA puts left-wing politics ahead of Illinois jobs

Illinois Democrat Alexi Giannoulias is the union candidate for US Senate. Eighty-eight percent of the workforce does not belong to a union, but "The Boy Banker" is walking their eternal picket line.

Now Giannoulias wants to renegotiate NAFTA, which has greatly benefited Illinois.

In a press release, the Illinois Republican Party denounces Giannoulias' valentine to union bosses:

CHICAGO – In one of the most blatant displays of political pandering this primary season, Democrat Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias today will call for the reopening of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) – a proposal considered political "red meat" for union groups backing Giannoulias’ candidacy but rejected by President Obama earlier this year.

Reopening NAFTA would likely start a trade war with Illinois' top two export markets – Canada and Mexico – and risk thousands of Illinois jobs on the heels of the worst economic downturn since World War II.

"As Illinois struggles with 11 percent unemployment, Alexi Giannoulias should not be risking a trade war with our state’s two largest export markets," Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady said. "More than 100,000 Illinois jobs and 8,000 Illinois employers depend on Canada and Mexico for roughly one-third of our state’s exports. Alexi's blatant pandering to the left-wing might help him win a primary, but it fundamentally calls into question his judgment when it comes to job creation and economic recovery."

What's At Stake: 100,000 Jobs; 8,000 Employers; $19 Billion in Exports

•According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Illinois depends on world markets. Illinois' export shipments of merchandise in 2008 totaled $53.7 billion.

•The state's largest export market, by far, is Canada. Illinois exported $14.9 billion worth of merchandise to Canada in 2008, over one-quarter (28 percent) of the state total.

•Canada was followed by Mexico ($4.3 billion). When combined, Canada and Mexico account for 36 percent of the state's total exports ($19.2 billion).

•More than 7,000 Illinois small and medium-sized enterprises and more than 1,000 larger firms depend on exports to the NAFTA region, according to the International Trade Administration (ITA).

•According to the ITA, roughly 300,000 Illinois jobs are linked to manufactured exports. With Canada and Mexico receiving 36% of Illinois exports, a trade war could put more than 100,000 Illinois jobs at risk.

Recent Statements by President Obama Supporting NAFTA

The North American Leaders Summit, The White House Blog, August 10, 2009

"First, we agreed that we had to work together to restore our common prosperity. The global recession has cost jobs and hurt families from Toronto to Toledo to Tijuana. So we renew our commitment to work together in Ottawa, Washington and Mexico City. Building on our progress at the G8 and G20 summits, we agreed to continue to take aggressive, coordinated action to restore economic growth and create jobs for our workers, including workers in the North American auto industry.

"Because so much of our common prosperity and millions of jobs depend on trade that flows across our borders – billions of dollars worth of trade every day – we reaffirmed the need to reject protectionism. We recommitted ourselves to the infrastructure investments, the common-sense regulations and intellectual property protections upon which trade thrives. We are among each other's largest trading partners. As we work together towards lasting prosperity, we need to expand that trade, not restrict it."

Obama Doesn't Plan to Reopen NAFTA Talks, New York Times, April 20, 2009

WASHINGTON — The administration has no present plans to reopen negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement to add labor and environmental protections, as President Obama vowed to do during his campaign, the top trade official said on Monday.

"The president has said we will look at all of our options, but I think they can be addressed without having to reopen the agreement," said the official, Ronald Kirk, the United States trade representative. It was perhaps the clearest indication yet of the administration’s thinking on whether to reopen the core agreement to add labor and environmental rules."

NAFTA Renegotiation Must Wait, Obama Says, Washington Post, February 20, 2009

President Obama on Thursday warned against a "strong impulse" toward protectionism while the world suffers a global economic recession and said his election-year promise to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement on behalf of unions and environmentalists will have to wait.

"Now is a time where we've got to be very careful about any signals of protectionism," the president said. "Because, as the economy of the world contracts, I think there's going to be a strong impulse on the part of constituencies in all countries to see if we - they can engage in beggar-thy-neighbor policies."

U.S. will respect trade pacts 'as we always have': Obama, CBC News, February 17, 2009

"But … we are going to abide by our World Trade Organization and NAFTA obligations just as we always have," Obama said…

“…When asked about the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Obama said there are "a lot of sensitivities right now" about renegotiating trade pacts because of the huge decline in world trade…

…"But what I've also said is that Canada is one of our most important trading partners, we rely on them heavily, there's $1.5 billion worth of trade going back and forth every day between the two countries and that it is not in anybody's interest to see that trade diminish," he added…"

Obama: NAFTA not so bad after all, Fortune Magazine, June 18, 2008

"In an interview with Fortune to be featured in the magazine's upcoming issue, the presumptive Democratic nominee backed off his harshest attacks on the free trade agreement and indicated he didn't want to unilaterally reopen negotiations on NAFTA.

"Sometimes during campaigns the rhetoric gets overheated and amplified," he conceded, after I reminded him that he had called NAFTA "devastating" and "a big mistake," despite nonpartisan studies concluding that the trade zone has had a mild, positive effect on the U.S. economy.

"Does that mean his rhetoric was overheated and amplified? 'Politicians are always guilty of that, and I don't exempt myself,' he answered."

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Giannoulias wants to renegotiate NAFTA

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