Dems' New Take on Trade is Good News for American Families

Editor's Note: This is a press release from our friends at Citizens Trade Campaign.

Washington D.C. -- After more than a decade of division within the National Democratic Party on the issue of free trade, the organization codified a clear position for the first time in their platform going into the Denver Convention.

"This language is nothing less than groundbreaking," said Andy Gussert, National Director of Citizens Trade Campaign. "For the first time, a presidential platform publicly and formally commits to amending past trade deals, ending NAFTA-style agreements and reforming institutions like the G8 and World Trade Organization." The final 2008 platform draft includes more than 3000 words across twenty-four separate pages that address specific trade and globalization issues.

NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, was first negotiated by President George Herbert Walker Bush, but Democrat Bill Clinton made its passage a priority in 1993. Since then, Democrats have often split on the issue of so-called "free trade", and have increasingly moved away from supporting the NAFTA model in favor of reform. "This platform gives a clear indication, for the first time, where the Democratic Party is on fair trade," added Gussert. "They want more of it."