Democratic presidential front-runner John Kerry on Wednesday proposed to discourage American companies from shipping US jobs overseas by requiring them to give advance notice to the government and affected workers.
In a speech prepared for delivery at the University of Toledo in hard-hit Ohio, a key state among 10 that hold nominating contests on Tuesday, Kerry said he could not promise that "all the rivers of steel will flow again" but offered a slate of ideas for stemming the tide of job losses.
"I won't come here and tell you that if I'm president all of Ohio's factories will spring back to life - that all the rivers of steel will flow again," Kerry said. "You wouldn't believe me if I did - and you'd be right."
North Carolina Senator John Edwards, Kerry's major rival in the race to see who will challenge President George W. Bush on November 2, has wagered his campaign on the issue of outsourcing and the loss of jobs under trade pacts like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Both have lavished attention on Ohio and other "Super Tuesday" states such as Georgia, Minnesota and upstate New York - that have suffered big manufacturing job losses.
Kerry is a four-term Massachusetts senator who voted for NAFTA in 1993. He has since said he would order a 120-day review of all trade pacts and laid out specific guidelines for companies wanting to send jobs overseas.
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