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.

Gerardo Grimaldo

Nyssa, OR

Gerardo had a union-wage job as a sugar boiler for Amalgamated Sugar in eastern Oregon, until the plant closed in competition from imports.

“My wife was at a funeral when they announced the shutdown. I tried to get a hold of her. Somebody at the funeral actually got up and told her, 'I just got a phone call on my cellphone. They just closed the mill down.' She didn't believe it. When she got back into town, she called me. She said, 'What about the work?' 'Well,' I said, 'They shut it down.'

"There will be 450 less paychecks just from people working at the plant. If those people are in town, they're spending money on groceries, food, fuel. A lot of them would bank in town for the convenience. Well, we're not going to see that this year...

"Even after they told us, a lot of guys didn't believe it. Even three or four weeks later. You sit at home worrying for days."