Trade liberalization creates more and better jobs in the United States while also protecting U.S. labor standards.

• Trade creates good jobs in the United States. Ten percent of all U.S. jobs (approximately 12 million) depend on exports. One in five factory jobs depend on international trade. Jobs that depend on trade generally pay about 13 to 18 percent more than the average U.S. wage.
• U.S. plants that export increase employment 2 to 4 percent faster annually than plants that do not export. Exporting plants also are less likely to go out of business.
• U.S. firms that invest abroad are more likely to succeed in generating good jobs at home. Such jobs pay an average wage in the United States of $15,000 more than jobs in firms that are less globally integrated.
• The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is an example. Real hourly compensation in the U.S. manufacturing sector increased by 14.4 percent in the 10 years following NAFTA implementation, as compared to 6.5 percent in the 10 years prior to NAFTA.
• Recently negotiated trade agreements require the signatory countries to effectively enforce their own labor laws and not derogate from internationally recognized standards.

Trade liberalization improves worker rights and labor standards in developing countries.

• In 44 developing countries that engaged in significant trade liberalization, there was “no case where the trade reforms were followed by a worsening of association rights,” according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. In addition, freedom-ofassociation rights improved in 32 of the countries after trade liberalization. Liberalized trade creates economic opportunities that give workers the freedom to choose to work for employers offering better pay and better working conditions. Liberalized trade also contributes to rising standards of living, which economic studies suggest is key to raising labor standards.
• Recently negotiated trade agreements contain provisions designed to safeguard worker rights such as the right of association; the right to organize and bargain collectively; a prohibition on the use of forced labor; a minimum age for the employment of children; the elimination of the worst forms of child labor; and acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health.