Rep Barbara Lee: 'Bad' trade deals 'wreak havoc' on minorities
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said Wednesday that trade deals that outsource American jobs "wreak havoc" on minorities.
Lee's comments in a brief House floor speech came after President Obama urged Congress to give him trade promotion authority, which many Democrats oppose.
"When jobs are shipped overseas because of bad trade deals, communities of color bear a huge brunt on the loss of those jobs," Lee said.
Lee claimed that minorities who lost their jobs still encountered hardship, as they typically were only able to gain employment at a 30 percent lower wage.
"Trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is being negotiated in secret, wreak havoc on communities of color. We cannot allow more bad trade deals to be enacted, especially when unemployment rates and poverty rates in these communities is much too high already," Lee said.
"TPP is certainly not fair and must be defeated," Lee concluded.
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