U.S. Senate Committee Moves Toward Recommending Cafta

[arcos]

U.S. Senate Committee Moves Toward Recommending Cafta

June 14 (Bloomberg) -- A U.S. Senate panel took a step today toward recommending passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement after the Bush administration offered to negotiate concessions to the sugar industry.

The Senate Finance Committee in Washington, in an informal, non-binding poll of its members, voted 11-9 in favor of draft legislation the administration submitted. A final version would still have to be refiled to the committee for a formal vote.

``Our expectations weren't high and they were exceeded today,'' U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman told reporters. ``This is the first successful step in a very long process.''

Today's vote may embolden the White House to send a final version of Cafta to Congress, a process the administration has held off on for about a year amid objections from unions, textile producers and sugar makers. Senator Craig Thomas of Wyoming, who had opposed Cafta because of complaints from the beet-sugar industry in his state, became the pivotal vote by choosing to support the measure at today's hearing.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aGem94QkU6_c&refer=us

[dbeach]

1. nafta cafta..all is a shafta

more for the elites..less for the rest..

[krkaufman]

3. Good one. n/t

[dbeach]

5. "Corporate protectionism"

WE DON'T HAVTA GET THE SHAFTA FROM CAFTA!!

http://www.hightowerlowdown.org/index.cfm



"If you think NAFTA has been awful, wait'll you get a wafta of CAFTA. Not only does it extend all of the job-busting, farm-killing, environment-exploiting provisions of NAFTA to six more countries (Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua), but it also expands the ability of foreign corporations to assert their profit interests over the people's interests, both in the U.S. and in the six Latino nations.

The Bushites have declared that CAFTA is their number-one trade priority, and their PR hucksters are spinning faster than a Maytag to try to convince the media and Congress that this deal is beyond good – it's superfabuloso! Like hawking a Veg-a-Matic on latenight TV, they're promising that CAFTA can do it all: "You'll marvel at how fast it will increase U.S. exports, spreading gleaming manufacturing jobs to every nook and cranny in our country, and you'll also gasp in disbelief at how this wonder-deal will simultaneously cause prosperity and democracy to burst forth like spring flowers among our good neighbors to the south, thus putting a chicken in every pot and a Hummer in every Central American garage."

If this hypercharged sales job sounds vaguely familiar, it's because the Powers That Be were doing the exact same song and dance 11 years ago when they were hanging NAFTA around our necks.As we've learned the hard way, they lied. That other sucking sound
When Ross Perot opposed NAFTA in his '92 presidential run, he famously (and accurately) said that the coming job loss for U.S. workers would be so massive that it would create "a giant sucking sound." CAFTA will add to that sound, for it contains the same NAFTA incentives that led U.S. manufacturers to rush to Northern Mexico's notorious maquiladora strip in the 1990s. But, while most of the debate in Washington is over this issue of jobs, there is another much larger sucking sound that the mass media has ignored entirely and that Bush & Company hope you and Congress don't notice until it's too late. This is the sound of our people's sovereignty already being stealthily swallowed up by NAFTA—a vacuuming up that CAFTA would switch to high gear. "

[gizmo1979]

2. Total blatant disregard

for the will of the people.I guess when your approval ratings are in the 30's may as well stick with the rich people who have got you there.Can anyone show numbers where any free trade deal has worked to our advantage?

[krkaufman]

4. NAFTA hurt Dems more...

... CAFTA may cause similar pain for the ROG since they control all branches.

Dems should be taking an anti-CAFTA stand; that is, vote against unless environmental and labor safeguards aren't included. It's time the Dem party returned to a focus on the quality of life of the working class.

[hansberrym]

6. Why would it matter whether evironmental and labor

safeguards are included?

We already have those safeguards in the US now.

THe US can not control and should not seek the imperialistic power to control what happens in another country with regard to its domestic policy.

The "environmental and labor safeguards" line is often used a hedge by politicians seeking to remain on the fence - they don't want to come out for CAFTA and piss of the unions, and they don't want to be against and piss off the corporate power.


I don't think any US union guys are going to relocate to central america even if "environmental and labor safeguards" are included in CAFTA. However their jobs will go and the "safeguards" will be just a fig leaf for the politicians who sell us down the river.

[krkaufman]

7. It's about fair trade

THe US can not control and should not seek the imperialistic power to control what happens in another country with regard to its domestic policy.

It's not about "imperialistic power." I hardly consider having businesses cover the total cost of manufacturing (i.e. parts, labor, cleanup) to be imperialistic; rather, a baseline relative to labor and environmental standards needs to be set in order for American businesses to compete fairly with third world markets.

These baselines would also promote the lifting of the standard of living for the third world workers, rather than the continued exploitation spurred by "free market" trade agreements.

Another aspect is health care, how can American businesses compete with those in other countries where health care isn't commonly provided or where a national health care program is available. We need to move towards a national health care system, in order to allow our businesses to compete fairly within our borders (take that Walmart), as well as globally.

Call 'em tariffs, call 'em labor and environmental equilibrium adjustments, whatever... but our country is going to continue tubing as long as we continue competing with circa-1900 businesses.