The Administration’s strong-arming carried the day in the House of Representatives by a one-vote margin, against those who are working for peace, justice and sustainable economies in the Americas. As Witness for Peace comments, today "more people than ever are questioning the model of ‘free trade’ and looking for more positive alternatives."

Here are brief reflections from Witness for Peace and Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch division

[News releases dated July 28, 2005, posted here 8-2-05]

Dear friends,

Many of us sit in front of our computers today reading this with heavy and/or angered hearts. Our disappointment however, is nothing compared to the suffering set in motion for Central Americans and workers in the US because of this past Wednesday's late night passage of CAFTA.

The debate on the Central American Free Trade Agreement in the House of Representatives lasted two hours with significantly more members speaking in opposition than in favor. A 15-minute vote started at 11:02. When time for the vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement expired at 11:17 p.m., the nays outnumbered the yeas by 180 to 175. But, after leaving the roll open for another hour the leadership had rounded up enough votes to win by 217 to 215.

Early analysis is that there were definitely some Democrats who voted wrong and some special concern for members from both sides of the aisle who flip-flopped where they stood in the final hours. The good news was that there really were some courageous Republicans (27 of them in fact) who voted NO on the agreement. According to Reuters news service, on Wednesday morning Bush appealed to House Republicans to put aside any "parochial interests" they might have about CAFTA and look at the broader benefits of the pact to the United States and the six other countries. Several other members of the Administration spent the day on the hill lobbying for CAFTA, a highly unusual practice, but one that did seem to garner a few key votes.

So, yes, our hearts are heavy today- not in the sense of personal defeat or disillusion of the countlesshours and hard work of the past two years- but heavy hearts for the future, for those who will feel the very real effects of this unjust trade agreement. As for the past, we did good work and have every reason to be proud of our efforts. The Administration and House Leadership had to work incredibly hard to un-do our efforts and only succeeded by the smallest possible margin.

Thank you for being partners in this invaluable struggle for peace, justice and sustainable economies in the Americas. Thanks in great part to the work of WFP members and others across the hemisphere more people than ever are questioning the model of "free trade" and looking for more positive alternatives.

In the coming days as the sting of defeat dulls, take time to reflect on the people and communities that inspire you the most- may their wisdom in times of adversity help to bolster you in the struggle for justice.

See the voting record on CAFTA at http://www.witnessforpeace.org/072905_CAFTA_results.html

July 28, 2005

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July 28, 2005

The CAFTA vote became a highly politicized referendum on whether President Bush would be made a lame duck, but the CAFTA debate makes clear that a dramatic shift in U.S. trade politics has occurred, and the NAFTA trade model is dead.

After losing the debate on the merits months ago, passing CAFTA required last-minute procedural stunts even after weeks of the president's personal attention, a rare presidential visit to Congress, months of GOP leadership threats and goodies, and an army of corporate lobbyists to push the economically modest CAFTA NAFTA expansion through by a narrow margin after trying for a year.

That CAFTA NAFTA expansion, a trade deal of small economic significance, barely passed the House of Representatives shows that any economically significant attempts to expand the NAFTA model, such as the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the America, would be dead on arrival.

With only 15 Democrats supporting CAFTA, the Bush administration and the Republican Party have now officially adopted NAFTA's record of an unsustainable deficit, downward pressure on wages and economic instability as their own. How U.S. trade politics has shifted was demonstrated by the CAFTA no votes of traditional free trade Democrats Jim Davis (D-Fla.) and Harold Ford (D-Tenn.), who are both seeking statewide office in their states.

With a 214-211 vote, the GOP leadership held open the vote because all of the remaining GOP votes (Reps. Jo Ann Davis, Boustany, Capito, Fitzpatrick, Simmons, LaTourette, Jindal and Taylor) were committed to opposing CAFTA, which would have brought the opposition to a winning 219. The promised breaking of arms "into one-thousand pieces," as Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) stated, ensued with brokered final vote switching and threats which ended the vote at 217-215.

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Lori Wallach is director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch division.

Act Now to Stop CAFTA!
 [6-30-05]

Declare independence from corporate trade agreements! George Bush is asking Congress to vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement before the 4th of July. Call your congressional representative today to tell them to oppose CAFTA.

Please call 1-866-340-9281, a toll-free number sponsored by the United Steelworkers of America, and urge Congress to vote NO on CAFTA! CAFTA could be voted on as soon as Thursday, June 30th.

CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement that will include Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic, endangers labor and environmental standards and will exacerbate poverty at home and abroad.

U.S. corporations stand to profit extraordinarily from this unpopular agreement which may be why the public knows so little about it. CAFTA signs away sovereign democratic rights, tramples hard-fought environmental and labor protections, privatizes public resources, holds governments hostage to frivolous corporate lawsuits and further marginalizes working families in Central America and the United States.

Don't let the bad policies of NAFTA get repeated with CAFTA. Declare independence from corporate trade agreements. Tell your congressional representative why CAFTA is bad for working families, bad for the environment, and bad for democracy. Go ahead; get on the phone! 1-866-340-9281.

The recent Presbyterian General Assembly voted to oppose the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Here's some helpful information for any who want to urge their members of Congress to support the PCUSA view.

This material comes from the Campaign for Labor Rights, prepared with information from CISPES and the Nicaragua Network.

Congress will be in recess and members will again be in their home districts from July 26th to September 3rd. This is another opportunity to meet with your Representative and Senators about the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). We have been hearing a lot of the same statements from representatives lately - especially related to the delay of the vote in the US Congress and Kerry's possible renegotiation of CAFTA. Below are some talking points that will help you better respond to these issues in lobby meetings with your senators and representatives. It also includes suggestions about what we can be asking sympathetic representatives for right now beyond a commitment to vote against CAFTA.

**News Update**

The Dominican Republic is expected to sign on to this Free Trade Agreement today, July 23rd. The Dominican Republic and the five Central American countries just concluded their own negotiations, in order to modify a current agreement between those partners to take into account the Dominican Republic's entry into CAFTA. The Central American countries are being encouraged to ratify the agreement in their own national assemblies so as to put pressure on the U.S. Congress. Bush has declared that he will not put CAFTA before Congress before the November elections, but Robert Zoellick, the U.S. Trade Representative, has openly acknowledged the possibility of passing CAFTA during the lame duck congress after the elections. We cannot let this happen! The Stop CAFTA movement has come far; don't let them sneak CAFTA through!

Ministers in Central America have warned that they would be opposed to the renegotiation of CAFTA should Democratic candidate John Kerry win November's presidential election and hold to his promise to improve CAFTA's worker and environmental conditions. While this would be an opportunity to improve some aspects of the actual agreement, there are many reasons why a renegotiation might not be satisfactory. For example, Kerry has not proposed looking into the Intellectual Property rules, which will turn necessary medicines into hard to find commodities after CAFTA. Also, the renegotiation of CAFTA would not address the investor rights which benefit only the transnational companies, doing little for the citizens or the development of these countries.

If you would like more background on CAFTA, go to the web page  of the Stop CAFTA Coalition, which has worked since March of 2003 in partnership with organizations in Central America to stop this damaging trade agreement.

TALKING POINTS

1. What Members of Congress are saying:

CAFTA won't be voted on until after the elections, so what's the point in talking about it now?

**Response:

There is always a chance that CAFTA could be voted on before the elections; regardless, it's important to make public statements NOW to show the administration how broad the opposition is.

This is doubly important because the administration is negotiating agreements with other countries in Latin America. Congress needs to send a message that the CAFTA model is not adequate.

While unlikely, Zoellick has been pushing for a possible lame-duck vote. Members must make opposition public now to ensure that a lame-duck vote doesn't happen.

** You may want to ask your members of Congress:

Release a public statement stating firm opposition to CAFTA

2. What Members of Congress are saying:

The labor and environment provisions are most concerning

**Response:

In fact, labor and environment are just two of many problems with CAFTA. Others are agriculture, privatization and intellectual property. People in Central America and the U.S. reject CAFTA for many reasons, as it is based on a fundamentally flawed model of trade.

Furthermore, the labor and environmental provisions deal solely with enforcement -- the entire agreement is bad for labor and the environment, by giving free range to corporations.

** You may want to ask your Members of Congress:

Help organize a Congressional Fact Finding Mission to Central America to research the potential effects of CAFTA beyond labor and environment

3. What Members of Congress are saying:

CAFTA is indeed flawed, but I'm hoping that Kerry will win and renegotiate a better deal

**Response:

The renegotiated CAFTA that John Kerry is talking about is not at all acceptable. Kerry's record (voting for NAFTA, Chile, Fast-Track) shows that he's not an advocate for "fair" trade, and thus those that oppose CAFTA should push him to go further.

** You may want to ask your Members of Congress:

Tell Kerry, as well as other members of Congress, that the problems with CAFTA cannot be solved through renegotiating certain parts of the deal.

4. What Members of Congress are saying:

I haven't heard much from my constituents about CAFTA; it's not really an issue that people in my district care about

**Response:

You haven't heard anything because the process has been complicated and secretive, without any sort of popular consultation. In fact, people are concerned about issues related to trade (such as off-shoring of jobs, secret tribunals that overturn judicial decisions in the United States, access to generic medicines, etc), but the government and the media have failed to make the connection to CAFTA

** You may want to ask your Members of Congress:

Organize a public forum in your district that draws on a variety of social/economic sectors and opinions. Encourage education and dialogue about trade issues.

5. What Members of Congress are saying:

I'm against CAFTA; what else to you want from me?

**Response:

Its time for Congress to start putting forward alternatives to the Administrations current trade policy. Make opposition to CAFTA an issue by discussing and investigating alternatives.

** You may want to ask your Members of Congress:

Become a co-sponsor of the Fair Trade for Our Future Resolution, a proactive piece of legislation that establishes minimum standards for responsible trade policies. To find this document go to: http://citizenstrade.org/resources.php

Support efforts to repeal fast track and/or vote against expansion of fast track when that comes up next year.

6. What Members of Congress are saying:

Free trade works. I support CAFTA. It is the best thing we can do for Central America.

**Response:

There is tremendous opposition to CAFTA in Central America. We can give you extensive information about the horrific impacts of NAFTA in Mexico, and provide statements against CAFTA from groups in Central America.

** You may want to ask your Members of Congress:

Ask them to consider the broad spectrum of evidence concerning the potential impact of the agreement.

If they say no, increase pressure tactics (see CAFTA Lobby Kit at www.stopcafta.org for ideas)

7. What Members of Congress are saying:

Free trade works. It is time for us to break down barriers for our products in Central America. CAFTA provides opportunities for our farmers and our businesses.

**Response:

The National Family Farm Coalition and National Farmers Union oppose CAFTA. This agreement is a lose/lose proposition for small farmers in Central America and the United States.

** You may want to ask your Members of Congress:

An action alert from Sojourners

Congress is expected to vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) in the coming weeks. Your voice is needed to speak out in solidarity with all people of Central America -especially poor farmers and women - who will be hardest hit. Changes in economic policy, especially free trade policies, have the greatest and most devastating effects on women and the poor. CAFTA would primarily benefit corporations and their stockholders, rather than ensuring labor and human rights.

As people of conscience, we must urge our Members of Congress to vote NO on this bill, and to speak out for economic equality for women and the poor. Contact your congressperson today and tell them to oppose CAFTA.

In a blow to corporate-driven agenda, U.S. forced to complete a scaled-down CAFTA without Costa Rica

Agreement remains a threat to workers, environment, public health, faces uphill battle in Congress

from Citizens Trade Campaign  [12-20-03]

WASHINGTON - December 17, 2003 - U.S. negotiators announced the completion of Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) talks today, but with only four nations after Costa Rica walked out yesterday, objecting to U.S. demands that it open its telecommunications and insurance industries to privatization. CAFTA, if passed by Congress, would in effect create a NAFTA-style relationship between the U.S. and the Central American countries of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala. The Dominican Republic would also be annexed to the agreement, as well as Costa Rica, potentially. CAFTA would have to be approved by the U.S. Congress and by the governments of the Central American nations next year before it could take effect.

Because of concerns over workers rights, investment, access to medicines, the anticipated impact on the sugar and textile industries, strong Congressional opposition to the agreement is expected. A recent U.S. Zogby poll found that the majority of respondents opposed extending NAFTA to other Latin American countries. At a news conference earlier this month, Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) suggested that CAFTA would fail in Congress due to contentious issues.

"You have Costa Rica walking out of CAFTA talks because it refuses to adopt the Worldcom-Arthur Anderson model of telecom and financial services deregulation, the FTAA nearly imploding in Miami over U.S. demands for expansive investor and intellectual property protections, and the WTO melting down in Cancun," said Lori Wallach, Director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch. "What will it take before the Bush Administration stops desperately pushing the same old NAFTA model that has so clearly failed?" "CAFTA would further undermine workers' rights in Central America and in the U.S.," said Bill Klinefelter, Legislative and Political Director of the United Steelworkers of America. "Moving forward with this agreement without ensuring safeguards for workers shows clearly that CAFTA is designed to benefit huge multinational corporations at the expense of the workers who make their products. CAFTA would strike a blow against working families in Central America and in the U.S."

Another controversial aspect of the agreement are the new rules it would impose on countries over pharmaceutical patents for life-saving drugs. "CAFTA as completed would deny vital medicines to AIDS and HIV patients," says Gretchen Gordon, Director of Citizens Trade Campaign. "The Bush Administration is going to bat for big drug companies' patent profits while people with AIDS are literally dying for their medicines."

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The Citizens Trade Campaign (CTC) is a national coalition of environmental, labor, consumer, family farm, religious, and other civil society groups founded in 1992 during the fight over the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). CTC members include the National Family Farm Coalition; United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society; Public Citizen; International Brotherhood of Teamsters; UNITE!; Friends of the Earth; the United Steelworkers of America; United Students Against Sweatshops; Communications Workers of America; Western Organization of Resource Councils; American Lands Alliance; Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy; Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and the Environment; and Defenders of Wildlife, as well as regional, state, and city-based coalitions, organizations, and individual activists throughout the United States.

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Citizens Trade Campaign
P.O. Box 77077
Washington, D.C. 20013
(202) 778-3320 ph
(202) 293-5308 fx
www.citizenstrade.org