Obama wants NAFTA amended

CHICAGO, June 26 (UPI) -- Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is committed to free trade agreements, but wants pacts to benefit countries equally, an adviser said.

Jason Furman, Obama's economic policy director, said the Illinois senator is "firmly committed" to the North American Free Trade Agreement among the United States, Canada and Mexico, the Financial Times reported Thursday.

"Barack Obama believes that the benefits of NAFTA were oversold to the public and that it has cost a significant number of jobs in lots of communities and sectors of the economy," Furman said in an interview.

He said the downside of the agreement has made some Americans "more skeptical" of free trade.

"Improving NAFTA requires a break from the trade policies of the last few years, but not a break from trading with the world," he said. "We are confident we could work together with Canada and Mexico to find a way to amend NAFTA that is in the interests of all three countries."