Hagan on 80,000 North Carolina Jobs Lost to China: Dole Supported Opening China up To American Trade

July 30, 2008

GREENSBORO, NC- The North Carolina Justice Center yesterday issued a report revealing that nearly 80,000 jobs have been lost to China from North Carolina since 2001, in key industries such as manufacturing, textile and apparel industries. The report, detailed in the Raleigh News & Observer on Wednesday, also said that trade is beginning to claim higher paying jobs in electronics manufacturing and technical fields.

Elizabeth Dole said she supported opening China to American trade and supported giving China membership in the World Trade Organization during her presidential campaign in 1999. Dole said her approach would benefit U.S. manufacturing interests and farmers by vastly expanding export markets.

“Time and again, it’s clear that Elizabeth Dole’s experience in Washington is just another way of doing business that puts special interests ahead of North Carolinians,” state Senator and U. S. Senate Candidate Kay Hagan (D-Guilford) said. “Her kind of experience has done nothing to help stem the tide of job losses in this state, and clearly she fails to see the error of her ways – just last year she voted for another trade agreement that could actually weaken labor law enforcement. North Carolinians deserve someone in the U.S. Senate who is working for them, not the corporate special interests.”

Kay pointed out that Elizabeth Dole votes with President Bush 92% of the time, to the detriment of North Carolina workers, with votes to expand the NAFTA model, in favor of CAFTA twice, as well as trade agreements with Peru, Chile and Australia. Dole has also voted in favor of tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas and against prohibiting American tax dollars from being used to shop jobs outside the country.

Last year, a report by the U.S. – China Economic and Security Review Commission said, “North Carolina appears to have realized few if any substantial benefits from China’s admission to the WTO, and the net effect of trade with China since its accession appears to be negative overall for North Carolina’s economy.”

Last week, Kay visited several communities in North Carolina, including Scotland County, which has the highest unemployment rate in the state, to discuss her ideas to ensure any trade deals that the United States enter into benefit North Carolina families first and foremost. You can read more about Kay’s trade plan here (http://www.kayhagan.com/issues/trade)

Serving in the North Carolina State Senate for a decade and chairman of the budget for five years, Kay’s record stands in stark contrast to Dole’s – helping North Carolina become the state in the nation with the top business climate for the third year in a row and supporting investments in job training, creation and economic stimulation for the state. Particularly in rural North Carolina, Kay provided funding for the Rural Economic Development Center and its North Carolina Infrastructure Program. Kay has also supported economic incentives to entice businesses to locate and expand in North Carolina and she has been a strong supporter of North Carolina’s 58 community colleges, which provide critical workforce development in local communities. Kay also worked to provide for the continued success and prosperity of the High Point Furniture Market which provides thousands of jobs here.

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