Stop CAFTA

Dear Global Justice Activists,

Yesterday, President Bush sent the implementing legislation for CAFTA-DR to the US Congress, and signaled that it might be scheduled for a vote before the July weeklong Congressional recess, which starts Monday July 4th. This means that CAFTA could be voted on as soon as next Thursday, June 30th.

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"Corporate lobbyists are spending millions of dollars to buy votes in Congress. But they still don't have the votes, because millions of real-life working Americans have been devastated by the NAFTA model of "free trade."

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In the 11 years since the passage of NAFTA, over 800,000 US workers have lost their jobs as factories have moved south in search of cheap labor and un-enforced environmental and labor laws. In Mexico, manufacturing wages have plunged by 20% since NAFTA came into effect. Over 1.5 million Mexican farmers have been squeezed off their land as low-priced U.S. taxpayer subsidized corn overwhelmed their native corn markets. As a result, the number farmers who have left their communities and headed north in an effort to find an income feed their families has skyrocketed. Meanwhile, in the US, some 38,000 family-owned farms have closed, while agri-business profits have tripled.

The devastating effects of NAFTA have led many in Congress to question the "free-trade" model. In the House, numerous Republicans have joined the vast majority of Democrats in opposing CAFTA. The Hispanic Caucus voted 14-1 in opposition, and historically pro-free trade Democrats have joined the opposition. Many estimates range that Bush is between 30-40 votes shy of passing CAFTA.

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Call 1-866-340-9281 and ask Congress to say NO to CAFTA!

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  Global Exchange article

U.S. Business and Industry Council
June 21, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The U.S. Business and Industry Council today released a letter signed by 24 business organizations across the country urging President Bush to scrap the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). The business groups, which speak for some 8,500 companies in dozens of industries, also called for a new national trade strategy that encourages production and employment in the United States.

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The USBIC letter notes that because the CAFTA countries' markets are so tiny, and because their cheap labor makes their export potential so impressive, "CAFTA's passage will surely increase net U.S. imports, boost the already dangerously high trade deficit, further weaken the dollar, force the continued fire sale of American assets, and reduce domestic manufacturing output, employment, and technological innovation."

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  Global Exchange article

CAFTA background