Subscribe now

Don’t support trade authority

George Washington wisely said in his farewell address to Congress, “The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible.”

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers rejects this sound advice from President Washington, and supports giving President Obama Trade Promotion Authority to put us on the fast track to becoming a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The TPP would integrate the United States with 11 Pacific Rim nations. Only five chapters of the 29 deal with trade. The rest are political, dealing with climate change, sustainable development, the military and international courts. Since joining NAFTA in 1994, we have lost nearly 5 million manufacturing jobs, and unaccountable judges in NAFTA tribunals have awarded $360 million from taxpayers to foreign firms.

Joining the TPP will certainly lead to more unemployment, lower wages, more outsourcing of companies and more laws and regulations forced on American businesses and citizens by unaccountable international agencies. Please tell McMorris Rodgers we don’t want to end up like the 28 European Union nations that lost their independence and national sovereignty through trade agreements.

Steve Dunham

Spokane

Letters policy

The Spokesman-Review invites original letters on local topics of public interest. Your letter must adhere to the following rules:

  • No more than 250 words
  • We reserve the right to reject letters that are not factually correct, racist or are written with malice.
  • We cannot accept more than one letter a month from the same writer.
  • With each letter, include your daytime phone number and street address.
  • The Spokesman-Review retains the nonexclusive right to archive and re-publish any material submitted for publication.

Unfortunately, we don’t have space to publish all letters received, nor are we able to acknowledge their receipt. (Learn more.)

Submit letters using any of the following:

Our online form
Submit your letter here
Mail
Letters to the Editor
The Spokesman-Review
999 W. Riverside Ave.
Spokane, WA 99201
Email
editor@spokesman.com
Fax
(509) 459-3815
Phone
(509) 459-5430

Read more about how we crafted our Letters to the Editor policy