Global Trade Watch Tours the Industrial Midwest to Build a Bold, Progressive Trade Agenda
Public Citizen News / July-August 2026
By Sarah Grace Spurgin
This article appeared in the July/August 2026 edition of Public Citizen News. Download the full edition here.
Decades of free trade deals, written by and for the biggest corporations, killed good jobs and gutted working-class communities. President Donald Trump claimed he would fix these problems, but as always, he lied. Instead, his corrupt trade agenda has deepened economic uncertainty with sweeping and chaotic tariffs, exacerbated the affordability crisis, and enriched himself and his cronies. That’s the message shared by Public Citizen and congressional and other allies at town hall meetings across the industrial Midwest.
But with Trump taking a sledgehammer to the global trading system, Public Citizen and our allies argued that there is an opportunity to demand something better. We must reject both the corporate-dominated deals of the past and Trump’s authoritarian chaos and, instead, build a bold, progressive trade system that works for working people and fights corporate power.
This spring, Public Citizen, in partnership with the United Autoworkers, United Steelworkers, farmers’ organizations, and small-business groups, has traveled across the Midwest on a “Building a Fair Economy for All” tour aimed at shaping that new agenda.
Energetic crowds have filled union halls in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Wisconsin — states that have lost a combined 1.3 million manufacturing jobs since NAFTA took effect in 1994. Together, participants have discussed how shifts in the global economy are impacting their communities, imagined alternatives to the status quo, and mapped out strategies to turn those ideas into reality.
The tour has brought together some of the country’s leading progressive voices on trade, including former U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, former Department of Labor economist Thea Lee, and members of Congress, including Reps. Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Chuy García (IL-4), Jonathan Jackson (IL-1), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-3), and Mark Pocan (WI-02). Local and national media, including an investigative reporter from the Guardian, have also joined the conversation.
Along the way, we’ve heard ambitious ideas from union activists, farmers, and parents struggling to put food on the table.
Ohio State Rep. Desiree Tims told attendees in Dayton that “the future of our economy should not simply be measured by corporate profits, but by whether working people and communities like ours are able to thrive.”
In Detroit, Tlaib urged that “international trade and finance should be guided by the same values that we have here at home: sustainability, equity, democracy, and solidarity.”
And in Allentown, UAW Local 677 President Mike Shupp called for closing loopholes in past and current trade agreements that allow corporations to offshore jobs while continuing to benefit from access to the U.S. market.
Those ideas – and many more – are making their way back to Washington. Interest in the tour continues to grow, with additional members of Congress expressing interest in hosting similar town halls in their districts. We’re already working to put new events on the calendar.
Some of the solutions emerging from these conversations are reflected in a House resolution introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro last month. The Fair Trade for Working Families resolution outlines 10 key principles for a new trade model that benefits working people and remedies the economic and national security risks posed by the current system.
These principles include stronger labor, environmental, and wage standards; policies that support domestic job creation; measures to keep medicines safe and affordable; and safeguards against AI-driven job loss. “Every member of Congress who opposes Trump’s authoritarian power grab should cosponsor Rep. DeLauro’s resolution to show American workers that they have a real plan for trade that uplifts workers, protects the environment, and fights corporate power – and we’re working to make that happen,” said Public Citizen Global Trade Watch Director Melinda St. Louis.
It’s no coincidence that many of the states hardest hit by corporate trade-related job losses proved especially susceptible to Trump’s false promise that his trade policy would protect workers. The rise of authoritarian strongmen like Trump is, in part, a symptom of a much larger crisis: decades of economic inequality that have left millions desperate for some kind of answer to their pain.
Without an ambitious, progressive trade agenda, working people will continue to bear the costs of a broken system.
The enthusiastic response to our town hall tour shows just how eager people are for a serious conversation about building a fair economy for all. We’re just getting started.