Tester: Free trade agreements ‘won’t create jobs’

Senator votes against Colombia, South Korea and Panama agreements

(U.S. SENATE) – U.S. Senator Jon Tester today released the following statement after voting against the Colombia, Panama and South Korea Free Trade Agreements:

“None of these agreements earned my vote for a simple reason: They won’t create jobs.  NAFTA-style trade agreements like these have only led to the outsourcing of American jobs and resulted in the loss of our manufacturing base, and we ought to be doing everything we can to prevent those jobs from going to other countries.  I will not support policies that only diminish America’s workforce, and these three agreements do just that.  Instead, our focus needs to be on empowering America’s small businesses and family farms and ranches with the tools they need to create jobs here at home.  We must grow America’s manufacturing base while ensuring American workers are competing on a level playing field.”

Tester is a longtime critic of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).  As a U.S. Senator, he also voted against the Peru Free Trade Agreement in 2007.

-30-