Free Trade w/ Colombia: McCain's Misguided Policy

[Judi Lynn]

Free Trade w/ Colombia: McCain's Misguided Policy
Sunday, 29 June 2008, 2:07 pm
Press Release: Council on Hemispheric Affairs


Free Trade with Colombia: McCain's Misguided Campaign

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McCain's foreign policy in Latin America is seen as misguided, and sends the wrong message to the region. Overall, his approach almost duplicates the Bush Administration's hemispheric policy, which is seen around the world as being deeply flawed. The Arizona Senator's tenure as the chairman of the International Republican Institute (IRI) gives a good indication of how he will approach Latin America, if elected. The IRI, under McCain's leadership, has a long history of undermining various legitimately elected governments in the region, beginning with the Reagan Presidency. Despite their commitment to 'democratic initiatives', the IRI backed decidedly undemocratic groups in order to advance US interests in the region. Fittingly, McCain has frequently referred to Hugo Chávez as a dictator, an opinion that has no basis in fact given Chávez's popular election. McCain's stance on Chávez makes it clear that he will do whatever is possible to contest the legitimacy of the various left-leaning, democratically elected governments in Latin America. Moreover, McCain's support for the Colombia Trade Promotion Act (CTPA) demonstrates how he will continue to rely on the failed policies of his IRI days. The CTPA, then, is a not so subtle method of bolstering Colombia's position as a regional power to challenge the influence of Chávez and other leftist leaders. In the end, McCain's support for the CTPA tends considerably toward the erroneous policies of the IRI, which used whatever means necessary to destabilize legitimate governments. In this case, McCain's support of the CTPA is myopic and fails to recognize obvious problems with the trade deal. The proposed trade agreement with Colombia is yet another example of opportunistic and self-serving U.S. policy in the region.

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Organized Labor and Human Rights in Colombia

An important flaw in the Colombia-U.S. free trade agreement is its failure to address ongoing human rights violations in Colombia, whose authorities have had a long history of intolerance toward organized labor and sanctioning violence against union members. By ratifying the bilateral agreement, Washington would lose most of its leverage over the Colombian government to enact positive labor laws and protect against the killing of union officials and ordinary members. Currently, the CTPA stipulates that Colombia must follow the guidelines of the International Labor Organization (ILO). Unfortunately, the ILO has no disciplinary power over those states that commit various abuses against organized labor, since its recommendations are non-binding. The U.S. must insist on stronger labor provisions before it finally ratifies the agreement. It is important to note, however, that since Uribe has been in power, overall violence against unions has dropped somewhat and union members today are actually less likely to be murdered than average Colombian citizens, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative. Much of this success is a result of Colombia's protection program, which now protects some 1,900 union members and their families.

Although whatever progress has been made is to be commended, Colombia must take a number of steps to improve the social and legal climate for unions and other left-leaning groups. A June ILO report found that in spite of long-term progress to reduce violence against unions, the murder rate of union members had, in fact, risen 70 percent from this time last year, casting doubt on Colombia's apparent progress. Furthermore, it chastised Colombia for its low union membership (only 5 percent of all workers are unionized) and that only 1 percent of union members actually have the legal right to strike. As the ILO report noted, even the success of the protection program is limited, as seclusion of union leaders prohibits actively recruiting union members and building membership. Additionally, lower murder figures are statistically questionable because of Colombia's extremely low union membership rates.

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The Impact of Ratification on Colombian Agriculture

If the CTPA is ratified, one likely result is that agricultural producers in Colombia would have to scale back wages and eliminate jobs to keep pace with cheaper, competitive American goods. Since Colombia lacks basic legal and social protections for organized labor and collective bargaining, the outcome would be predictable and inevitably disastrous. In such a scenario, Colombian workers would have no recourse or bargaining weight whatsoever. It falls on the U.S. to use the free trade agreement as a leveraging device to force Colombia to take definitive measures, including those recommended by the ILO, to improve labor conditions and protect its workforce. Without these measures, Colombia-U.S. trade will turn out to be one-sided, aiding America's agricultural sector, while delivering fatal blows to Colombian workers.

More:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00685.htm