John McCain, The Perpetual Free-Trader

Bush and McSame

"My administration would reduce barriers to trade and press for renewed Trade Promotion Authority." [McCain's address on Latin America to the Florida Association of Broadcasters published 6/20/07]

“If I were president, I would negotiate a free trade agreement with almost any country...” [Speech to the National Press Club, 5/20/99]

John McCain, as a self proclaimed free trader has voted for disastrous trade policies that have sent millions of American jobs overseas.  Even after seeing the devastating effects of the free trade policies he supported, he sticks by his decisions to this day. He has applauded the "success" of these policies, but when more than 1 million American jobs have been lost due to NAFTA, it is up to working families to say no more detrimental trade deals.

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NAFTA: In 1993, Senator McCain voted in favor of the North America Free Trade Agreement [H.R. 3450, Vote #395, 11/20/93], which has proven to be one of the most destructive trade policies ever enacted for the American working class. From 1993 through 2004, the United States lost 1,015,290 jobs due to NAFTA (Scott & Ratney, Economic Policy Institute, 7/20/05). Despite overwhelming evidence showing the failure of NAFTA, Senator McCain still claims the policy was a smart idea.

“I know NAFTA was a good idea. It has created millions of jobs and it has helped the economies of all three of these nations... There have been winners and losers. And that’s the problem. But free trade is something that I think is vital to America.” Des Moines Register and www.BigThink.com interview, November 2007]

When he claims that NAFTA has created millions of jobs, he surely cannot mean American jobs! Not only were over a million jobs that would have otherwise been created lost, the quality of jobs still in the U.S. declined as wages and benefits were pressured downward. Click here to watch a video of John McCain explaining his position on NAFTA.

CAFTA: More than a decade later, Mr. McCain hadn't learned his lesson. He voted for the Central American Free Trade Agreement, a trade agreement between the United States, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua to lessen tariff barriers and allow for free trade. This policy not only sent jobs from the US to Central America, it also jeopardized the right to form unions, environmental standards, and public health. [S. 1307, Vote #170, 6/30/05]

"There are jobs - let's have a little straight talk - there are some jobs that aren't coming back to Michigan. There are some jobs that won't come back here to South Carolina." [John McCain, Republican Debate, Myrtle Beach, SC, 1/10/08]

These jobs are disappearing and not coming back because of the bad trade deals that Senator McCain has backed in the past and hopes to expand upon as President!

"...ALMOST ANY COUNTRY": Mr. McCain has voted in support of trade agreements with Oman, Singapore, Chile, Morocco, to name a few. Regardless of the consequences these trade policies will have on American workers, he supports free trade in any form. Furthermore, he does not seem to mind how workers are treated as he voted to allow China into the World Trade Organization despite their horrific record of labor (and human) rights violations. Since China was admitted to the WTO in 2001, the US has seen an average of 353,000 jobs lost per year. [Scott, Economic Policy Institute, 10/09/07]

FAST TRACK AUTHORITY: In 1997, Senator McCain voted in favor of the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1997, which essentially granted the president additional authority to pass trade deals without enacting strong worker protections. [S. 1269, Vote # 292, 11/4/97]

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