McCain Pushes Free Trade In New Video

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: John McCain

As their candidate prepares to travel to Columbia and Mexico, John McCain's campaign has released a new web video – "Columbia Free Trade" – that stresses his support for the proposed free trade agreement with Columbia, which rival Barack Obama opposes because he says it lacks necessary labor and environmental standards.

The video's opening seems designed to appeal both to Latino voters and to those who are concerned about immigration from Mexico.

"To fuel our economy, we must create more jobs for Americans and for our neighbors to the south," McCain says, as Spanish subtitles appear at the bottom of the screen. "With better jobs, more of them will be able to stay in their country."

"We can't go back on our word on free trade promises with Mexico, Canada, Central America or anyone else," he continues. "We must encourage more trade agreements to create more jobs on both sides of the border; that's why I'm behind the Colombian Free Trade Agreement."

Watch:

The AFL-CIO, meanwhile, has released a statement on McCain's trip.

"Working people have seen bad trade deals send their jobs overseas and decimate their communities, yet McCain enthusiastically supports the proposed U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement and celebrates the effects of NAFTA," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney in the statement.

"McCain has said he would negotiate a 'free trade' agreement with 'almost any country willing to negotiate fairly with us' – without any consideration of the negative job impact on American workers or the egregious abuse of workers' rights abroad," he added.

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by christinawes July 2, 2008 8:27 PM EDT: John McCain''s trade policies with Colombia are already working - as he noted in television interviews this morning, the price of Colombian cocaine is up, a sure sign of a strengthening trade-based economic relationship with this important swing state. Go McCain!

http://www.womenforjohnmccain.com/; Reply to this comment


by mattcat25 July 1, 2008 5:02 PM EDT: We find ourselves as Workers in America in a race to the bottom, competing with overseas and foreign country cheap slave labor. The Right Wing Conservative Agenda is to have products made as cheap as possible (no matter what the safety issues maybe) but, never pass along the lowered retail price to consumers. The Conservative Agenda wishes to have an economy that would appear to be much like our neighbor to the south Mexico. Soon, you and I will have the standard of living comparable to those living beneath the southern border of the United States, that%u2019s what Free Trade means, Free to trade away the Middle Class Working Americans Standard of living.

It%u2019s already happening under the Bush Administration, and if John %u201CWar Monger%u201D McCain is elected the American Middle Class will be completely decimated.

Vote Republican, and vote your job away.; Reply to this comment


by pensacola88 July 1, 2008 3:44 PM EDT: Corporate Retail always benefits from free trade agreements. They can buy cheaper untaxed items, but still resell them on their stores for market-bearing prices. Consumers rarely see the benefit. A flower shop can chose to acquire roses from Colombia for 3-5 cents or roses from USA for 3-5 dollars, but always sell them to consumers for $19.95. Free Trade is corporate welfare subsidized by taxpayers. The advantage rarely is extended to the consumer.; Reply to this comment