Requires department of economic development to prepare report relating to international trade agreements

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1 describes the legislative intent.

§ 2 amends subdivision 47 of section 100 of the economic development law, requiring the Department of Economic Development to produce a report on an international trade agreement once a request is made by federal officials to any state official for the authority to commit the state to comply with the procurement rules of an international trade agreement or for submission of state entities or laws that should be exempted from an international trade agreement. If no such request is made, the report shall be produced one year after notice is provided to congress with respect to initiating negotiation for a new agreement. The report shall provide an analysis of the impact the international trade agreement will have on New York State business, industry, commerce, job market, laws and regulatory authority, and an estimate of how much it may cost the state to enforce.

Justification

The non-partisan Economic Policy Institute released figures in 2010 which tied the loss of 682,900 U.S. jobs to the passage of NAFTA. While NAFTA can be attributed to the creation of 46,000 jobs in New York State between 1993 and 2003, it has also led to the loss of 103,000 jobs in the state during the same period. NAFTA and other free trade agreements (FTAs) have taken quite a toll on New York State's manufacturing and agricultural sectors, while boosting the state's financial sector. The uneven effects of free trade on the state have created vast disparities in employment and wages from region to region.

In 2011 the U.S. Congress passed three new FTAs with South Korea, Panama, and Colombia, with little or no input from state governments. These agreements were wrought with controversy and drew substantial opposition. The International Trade Commission stated that the FTA with South Korea would most likely increase the U.S. trade deficit, and kill more jobs than it aims to create.

The FTA with South Korea is the most significant since NAFTA and will basically give South Korean companies a "hunting license" to go after NYS laws they feel are a barrier to market access. The PTA gives more rights to foreign companies to challenge our laws than our own domestic businesses. At this moment in time the European Union (El')

is pushing the U.S. to eliminate carve outs for Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) and demanding stringent enforcement of provisions contained in the WTO's Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) with state governments.

Transparency in trade policy is crucial to protecting the lives and livelihoods of New York State's citizens and keeping our economy strong. The international trade division of Empire State Development and other relevant state agencies should be tasked with evaluating trade agreements to assess their effects on New York state business, industry, commerce, job market, laws- and regulatory authority. If we are to pressure our federal representatives into formulating trade deals with New Yorkers' interests in mind, the Legislature must do everything in it its power to ensure that the public is informed and involved in the process.

Prior legislative history

2013-14: A.1695-A/Passed; S.1072-B/COMMERCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND SMALL BUSINESS 2012: A.708-D/Passed; S.2398-D/Labor 2011: A.708/Labor, S.2398/Labor 2009-10: A.1268/Labor, S.3350/Labor 2008: A.8567-A/Rules, S.4786-A/Passed 2007: A.8567-A/Rules, S.4786.A/Passed.

Fiscal implications

Negligible.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.