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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Did both Republicans and Democrats vote for free-trade agreements that led to outsourcing?

By Jacob Alabab-Moser
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YES

While the economic impacts of trade liberalization are widely debated and difficult to measure, critics argue that free-trade agreements have led to the outsourcing of well-paying U.S. jobs to other countries. Three prominent pro-trade actions by Congress were bipartisan, with particularly strong support from Republicans (see vote tallies in the Google Docs file linked below).

The 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement, which has been blamed for 600,000 lost U.S. jobs over two decades, and its successor, the 2020 U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, entered into force with bipartisan support.

Additionally, a Republican House majority enabled Democratic president Bill Clinton to grant China permanent normal trading privileges in 2000 ahead of the country's ascension to the World Trade Organization. This action helped stimulate greater trade between the U.S. and China, as well as a large U.S. trade deficit, which some believe has led to the loss of 3.7 million U.S. jobs between 2001 and 2018.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Economic Policy Institute Fast track to lost jobs: Free trade agreements are bad deals for working Americans
Google Docs Partisan vote tallies for three free-trade agreements
Congressional Research Service US trade policy: Background and current issues
Council on Foreign Relations NAFTA and the USMCA: Weighing the impact of North American trade
New York Times The China trade vote: A Clinton triumph; House, in 237-197 vote, approves normal trade rights for China
Economic Policy Institute Growing China trade deficit cost 3.7 million American jobs between 2001 and 2018: Jobs lost in every US state and congressional district
US International Trade Commission US International Trade Commission releases report estimating the historical impact of US trade agreements
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.