The new politics of American trade: the remaking of the trade debate.

• Author: Aaronson, Susan Ariel

For many years, the U.S. debate over trade has been a little like a sixth-grade dance. Proponents from business, academia, and government squirm on one side of the room. Meanwhile, opponents--members of labor unions, civil society groups, academics, and local government officials--refuse to move. But on December 6, 2010, two unions joined the dance. The United Auto Workers and the United Food and Commercial Workers expressed support for the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), arguing that the agreement will not only "protect" but, according to the UAW, "grow more jobs." These unions became the first U.S. unions to publicly support a free trade agreement since the U.S.-Canada free trade agreement of 1988. Meanwhile, several other prominent unions, including the American Federation of Labor umbrella organization, continued to signal their opposition to KORUS and other trade agreements.

Does this development signal a new policy environment for trade? Perhaps. The UAW got special provisions to protect workers in the auto sector from import surges. But the politics of trade may be changing. The Obama Administration has made labor enforcement a top priority for trade policymaking and in so doing has built trust with union leaders and members of Congress. Moreover, in recognition of changed economic and demographic conditions, some union leaders see opportunities in some of these agreements.

The Obama Administration has worked hard to show trade agreement critics that it is focused on achieving improved governance, labor rights, and employment "results" from trade agreements. The Bush and Clinton Administrations did little to hold FTA partners "accountable" for their labor practices. In fact, the United States has rarely acted to enforce these labor rights provisions and has never applied sanctions in response to violations. In 2009, the Congressional Government Accountability Office found that these agreements had done little to improve labor rights.

Obama Administration officials shrewdly recognized that labor rights language in bilateral FTAs could not appease concerns about these agreements. In its first (2009) trade policy agenda report, the Administration acknowledged that protecting worker rights makes "support for global markets sustainable." Ron Kirk, the U.S. Trade Representative, asserted that "USTR will proactively monitor and identify labor violations and enforce labor provisions.... When efforts to resolve violations have been...