WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) joined a group of senators today to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab to urge the Administration to include real enforcement of labor and environmental standards and benchmarks for success in U.S. trade deals. The Senators requested the meeting after the Bush Administration said they were willing to include such standards and benchmarks in future trade deals. "Workers in Pennsylvania and across the country are anxious about their job security given this administration's track record on trade," said Senator Bob Casey (D-PA). "We need enforceable benchmarks to make sure that our workers are given a level playing field as they compete in a global market place. We appreciate the change in rhetoric by this administration, but we also need a change in policy to help ensure job security for our workers."
Joining Casey at the meeting with Schwab were Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jim Webb (D-VA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), part of a group of Senators who are seeking a new direction in trade policies.
Casey added, “While the Administration has agreed to include labor and environmental standards in the past, too many times the agreements weren’t enforced. I need to see more details of the Administration’s plan and I need to see a commitment of real enforcement.”
