For too long, debates over international trade have been dominated by corporate elites and economic ideologues, 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.

Dennis Heinz

Bellefontaine, OH

Dennis had worked at the Seimens plant in Bellefontaine, Ohio for over 20 years and had hoped to retire from it, until its production was moved to Mexico under NAFTA.  Dennis had just purchased a new truck before the plant closure was announced.

“I'm barely hanging on to it [my truck], but I've still got it...

"[When the plant was closing] they wanted to fire people so they wouldn't have to pay them severance... It got a little rough.  You had to watch what you said or you were out the door...

"[The closure has had] kind of like a trickle down effect.  There's other little places around that supplied [the plant].  It hurts all the way around any way you look at it.  You can't even get a job at McDonald's around here right now."