For too long, debates over international trade have been dominated by corporate elites and economic idealogues, rather than rooted in the experiences of ordinary Americans.
The Trade Stories Project allows people who have been affected by policies and institutions like NAFTA and the WTO to share their views on a matter crucial to the global economy.
This includes displaced workers, farmers, small business owners and immigrants who have been typically excluded from the trade debate.
Karla Chase
Cosmopolis, WA
Karla worked at the Weyerhaeuser paper mill in Cosmopolis, Washington for almost a dozen years before it closed in 2006 due to increased competition from imports.
“We were all hoping for a last minute reprieve… It’s just so hard to understand… We were making a profit even, and then they close it. If you’re not making a profit then you kind of expect [the plant to close] — ‘what choice did they have, it’s still a business after all.’ But if you’re making a profit, it’s hard to understand. Why should they be closing down when they’re making some money on it? …
“I think one of the hardest parts is that you have a $60,000 a year job that all of a sudden you don’t have anymore. And then you get to spend four years of your life barely scraping by on what unemployment there is… trying to scrape by and get an education, to make only two-thirds of what you were making. And you’re supposed to be grateful, like they’re doing you a huge favor!”
Hear part of Karla's story...