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« The Right Stuff | Main | A Q&A With the Instapundit » May 2, 2005Clause Wits
The Nashville City Paper reports that the Tennessee legislature is "considering a bill that would require an act by the legislature to consent to participate in any provision of a national trade agreement that affects the state." The bill is being pushed by the Tennessee AFL-CIO Labor Council, which is part of the labor union movement that generally hates things like the North American Free Trade Agreement. This bill is, patently, designed to undermine the federal government's international economic policy. The Safeguarding Tennessee Sovereignty in Trade Act, sponsored by Sen. Joe Haynes (D-Goodlettsville), states that "the legislature finds that democratic, accountable governance in the states generally, and specifically the authority granted to the legislative branch by Tennessee’s Constitution, is being undermined by international commercial and trade rules enforced by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and established by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and is further threatened by similar provisions in an array of pending trade agreements."Perhaps the legislators backing this bill have forgotten that Section 8, Clause 3, of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations." The legislation is SB1704, sponsored by state Sen. Joe Haynes, D-Nashville, and HB0987, sponsored by state Rep. Mike Turner, D-Nashville. It has already passed the Senate Finance Committee and sent to the Senate Calendar Committee, which schedules legislation for floor votes. In the House, the legislation has been stalled in the Industrial Impact subcommittee of the House Commerce Committee, but is scheduled for a hearing on May 3. Sen. Haynes, and the lawmakers who have already voted for it in various committees are engaged in a meaningless waste of time. The state of Tennessee doesn't have the constitutional right to assert power over economic policy outside its own borders. Posted in Tennessee News
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Bill, the 1861 resolution for secession must have just made it to the hill in PDF format... Posted by: Paul at May 2, 2005 09:30 AMBesides the PR rant against free trade in the opening paragraphs of the bill, there actually are real effects from this legislation if passed. In addition to the overall hindrance of having legislature-appointed individuals with oversight roles in the trade arena, the legislature would most likely be an obstacle to provisions of free-trade agreements such as state procurement reciprocity and various regulatory authority--both being issues that states do have control despite national free trade agreements. Posted by: Jay at May 2, 2005 03:18 PMSection 8 clause 3 states Congress will have the authority to regulate foreign commerce as a nation not abdicate it to the WTO. And regulate commerce among the states not between states and foreign countries. Case in point. Utah just lost a ruling to the WTO. The World Trade Organization ruled 4/7 that the United States cannot block other countries from offering Internet gambling to U.S. residents, even if they live in states like Utah and Hawaii where gambling is illegal. From that ruling it would follow that states can not restrict contracts to companies that outsource the labor to other countries. I'm sure there are better examples. Thus the individual states have lost their individual rights to regulate their own commerce with foreign countries. Posted by: Frog Gigger at May 3, 2005 09:59 AMStates most certainly can affect provisions of national free trade agreements--particularly procurement reciprocity. Case in point: Tennessee was one of 13 states to not sign the procurement components of the Australian-American Free Trade Agreement (effectively preventing Tennessee companies from bidding on Australian state and federal government contracts) last year. Posted by: Jay at May 3, 2005 11:45 AMOh, I agree they can affect provisions. Tenn. can also forbid any Aussie company from doing business within the state. Or enact legislation imposing huge excise taxes on Aussie companies or goods imported from Australia. It works both ways. But lately it seems the US is getting the dirty end of the stick when it comes to "Free" trade agreements.
If free trade agreements were so good for the USA then why are we the only consignatory running trade deficits between us and other countries? Just wait until the FTAA gets stealthily guided thru the Federalist Party. It will make the WTO look like a fairytale. Posted by: Frog Gigger at May 3, 2005 04:09 PMPost a comment
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Can the state of Tennessee interfere in federal international economic policy? The constitutional answer would seem to be "No," but that isn't stopping some Democrats in the state legislature, backed by Labor, from trying.