HB 1294: Amendment to the Fairness to Workers Act

[fhtagn]

So, relevant map for reference from the thread this started in:

Below are all countries Atlasia currently has free trade agreements with (The 3 pending are the lighter blue ones).

The original argument used for originally excluding the nations being removed in this amendment:

I do have some concerns regarding Colombia, Peru and Chile given their status both as developing countries and as more or less reliable allies in the past few decades, mostly on account of the hit they might receive.

The reason I am proposing the removal of these nations from the exclusion is that they are by no means the only developing countries we have this type of relationship with, and I feel that it's best to still hold them to the same standards that we are holding other nations, especially when the result is protecting the environment and protecting our workers.

[fhtagn]

I like this idea. I had never thought of an effective way to police environmental responsibility while respecting other countries' sovereignty.

What if, however, we exclude countries with whom we have a free trade agreement? After all, we should make it advantageous for countries to have FTA's with us, and we can even include another line in the bill about environmental requirements for FTA's. What does the sponsor think?

We have a FTA with China Not really sure it's the best idea to cut them some slack because of that.

That being said, I'm not really sure I'd be on board with offering a special break from the requirements just because of a FTA. Especially if there's no way to be sure if the end result is worth it.

[fhtagn]

Any other questions/comments/concerns?

[fhtagn]

Since no one else seems to have anything to add, I'll go ahead and motion for a final vote. 24 hours for objections.

[fhtagn]

Final vote is now open. Representatives, please vote Aye, Nay, or Abstain. 72 hours, usual fun stuff.

[fhtagn]

Aye