The CAFTA Report
Treaty takes beating from left and right
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The CAFTA Report
Treaty takes beating from left and right
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Treaty takes beating from left and right
For The CAFTA Report
While a group opposed to the Central American Free Trade Agreement wants Barack Obama to suspend the pact, a key spokesman for the right insists that his administration is tilted strongly in favor of such international agreements. The Stop CAFTA Coalition released a third yearly report this month on the impact of the trade agreement. Predictably the group labeled it a failed agreement. The negative impacts of the free trade agreement in three countries studied are not simply growing pains or the inevitable transitional problems associated with altering a country’s economic system, but they are fundamental flaws in the economic theory that drives the treaty and will likely not improve, said Elliott Jones of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission, an editor of the report. But Phyllis Schlafly, the long-time opponent of globalization and head of the Eagle Forum, said in an analysis Friday that Obama has selected key administration figures who are favorable to such agreements. She said the treaties are a violation of U.S. sovereignty. "Obama plans to use his presidential power to get the Democratic-majority Senate to ratify a series of treaties that would take us a long way toward global rule over our money, our laws, our military, our courts, our customs, our trade, and even our use of energy," said Mrs. Schlafly. She is best known for her opposition to the U.S. Equal Rights Amendment. She pointed out that Obama's choice as U.S. trade representative is Ron Kirk. "He is an enthusiastic supporter of the 'global economic community' (which means open borders for 'free' trade), of NAFTA, and even of the NAFTA SuperHighway, which he calls the 'true river of trade between our communities.'" she said. NAFTA is the North American Free Trade Agreement among the United States, México and Canada. She said that the New Mexico governor, Bill Richardson, Obama's choice as secretary of Commerce, is another aggressive promoter of free trade. She opposes the U.N. Law of the Sea Treaty, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, a new global warming treaty, the U.N. Treaty on Women and the U.N. Treaty on the Rights of the Child. Several of the treaties have been signed by former president Bill Clinton but await action in the U.S. Senate. The Stop CAFTA group says it is a coalition of social justice and solidarity organizations. Consequently much of its concern is the treaty's impact on the poor and marginalized. Patterns of growing inequality and ongoing poverty within the signatory countries have only become more extreme, contrary to the promises of supporters of the agreement, said the group. According to Katherine Hoyt of the Nicaragua Network, “unless there is a significant shift in the economic model, employment opportunities will continue to be scarce, agricultural prices will continue to fall, the poor will become poorer, and immigration will increase.” The report also illuminates other trade agreements, either proposed or already in effect that relate to Central America and provide possible alternatives to the Central American Free Trade Agreement model. One model the group suggests is the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, known as ALBA for its name in Spanish. The regional trade group is led by Venezuela and its president, Hugo Chávez. ALBA is a cooperative trade agreement that focuses on development and mutually beneficial policies, eschewing the false promises of neoliberalism, said Stop CAFTA. One of the most recent converts to ALBA is Honduras, which also is a member of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Nicaragua also is a member. Since the trade group formed in 2004, ALBA countries have signed agreements to build joint factories, form a joint bank an emergency food fund, and exchange cheap Venezuelan oil for food, housing, and educational investments, according to Venezuelanalysis.com, an online news source based in Caracas. The Stop CAFTA report focused on El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, countries which adopted the treaty early. The report said that although employment has been created since the agreement entered into force, many are dangerous, exploitative, and unstable jobs in factories, or maquilas, of the multi-national corporations that have moved into Central America as a result of investment incentives. In addition, the report said that many farmers have been forced to take factory jobs because of a lack of options and that some have emigrated, lowering the unemployment numbers. The treaty also represents a threat to thousands of families who work in the informal sector of the economy: those who sell unauthorized audio and video discs, knock-off garments, and other products, said the report. The report also said drug prices have increased. And gains in exports have mainly benefited large international companies, it said. Large-scale industrial development projects, such as open-pit mines or hydroelectric dams, are entering the region in increasing numbers due to the treaty's stipulations regarding foreign investment, said the report. Countries that host these foreign mega-projects are required to lower any barriers to investment, which usually means any tax or other type of benefit the country would receive from the project, said the report. |
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