Stop CAFTA Campaign February 2004 Monitor

The fight to stop a new free trade agreement with five Central American countries (CAFTA) is gathering momentum. The next few months will prove crucial in stopping this devastating agreement from being passed in Congress. Diverse groups concerned with human, labor, and environmental rights have joined together to protest this latest aberration of trade policy.

Similar to other Free Trade Agreements, most notably the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), CAFTA poses serious concerns in many different areas. Environmental groups point to the lax enforcement of existing environmental laws in Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras. CAFTA does little to improve these laws. The same problem is present in labor laws; CAFTA promises a continued "race to the bottom" in terms of workers' wages and rights. Finally, because of its corporate-minded investment laws, CAFTA encourages privatization, making future access to water, energy, health care and medicines increasingly difficult for the populations of the five Central American countries.

Finally, CAFTA, while presented by the USTR as goodwill offer of development for these countries, does not contain the provisions necessary for true sustainable development. As in Mexico, much of the new growth will be in the maquila sector, which lacks investment in the local economy. Nor do the maquiladoras provide technology transfer, discarding the possibility of creating lucrative local production. Also, the region's fragile farming economy will be severely damaged by an influx of cheaply-produced U.S. agricultural goods.

There are concerns for Americans as well. Certain agricultural sectors, such as sugar, expect to feel the strain from an increase in imports. The number of jobs lost in the past from "outsourcing" to other countries will only augment under CAFTA. The trend towards greater immigration to the United States will not be abated by stagnated economies in Central America.

CAFTA in Congress

The President has not yet signed CAFTA, though once he indicates his intent to sign, Congress has only 90 days in which to review the entire agreement. It is therefore critical for those of us opposing CAFTA to target Congress.

The hanging thread in the process is the Dominican Republic, which is negotiating with the USTR to "dock on" to the original agreement with Central America. Max Baucus, a Democratic representative from Montana, has noted that the Dominican Republic must finish its negotiations before CAFTA can be considered by Congress. Because of this, the agreement may not be signed until June or July, creating a tight timeline for it to be pushed through Congress before the presidential election.

CAFTA is Coming: What YOU can do

The key to stopping CAFTA lies in a coordinated grassroots campaign to highlight the concrete reasons why CAFTA is bad for the majority of U.S. and Central American citizens. Visit www.stopcafta.org for more information on why CAFTA is a bad deal. Armed with this information, you can then take action in a number of ways.

• Congressional representatives will be in their home districts 4 times before the CAFTA vote. These periods are our chance to lobby Reps that are on the fence, shore up support with those who are on our side, and take action against those who blindly support "free" trade. Take the opportunity to meet with your rep, do educational outreach, and get the CAFTA debate into your local news.

Future home work periods are as follows:
April 5-16
May 24-31
June 28-July 5

• Begin planning for the larger, nationally coordinated action in April. Bring together a coalition of labor, religious sector, immigrant rights, and solidarity groups in your community to organize an action in April. Check out www.stopcafta.org for ideas and resources.

• If you would like to be a contact for organizing a local Stop CAFTA campaign, contact the Nicaragua Network (www.nicanet.org) to have your contact information posted

• Download the CAFTA Activist Organizing Kit and CAFTA Grassroots Lobby Kit at www.stopcafta.org.

• Contact your representative and tell them to vote NO on CAFTA and to speak out publicly against the agreement. Call the US Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and give them your zip code; they'll connect you to your representative.

• Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. See the CAFTA organizing kit for sample letters.