BILL NUMBER:S5426

TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the economic development law, in relation to requiring
the department of economic development to prepare a report relating to
international trade agreements

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To promote understanding of the impact in international trade
agreement will have on the welfare of New York state business,
industry, commerce, job market, laws and regulatory authority.

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.