Susan Schwab, trade representative, has harsh words for Costa Rica over CAFTA

[madfloridian]

It is coming up for a vote there in Costa Rica this week-end. And our trade rep actually warns them about their vote.


Susan Schwab

US will not renegotiate Costa Rica free trade deal : USTR

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States is not willing to renegotiate a free trade deal with Costa Rica if it is rejected by voters in a referendum set for Sunday, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said Thursday.

"The United States respects the sovereign right of the citizens of Costa Rica to choose whether to approve the free trade agreement with the United States, Central America, and the Dominican Republic. But, I hope whatever decision is made is based on the facts," she said in a statement.

"There has been speculation that the United States would simply renegotiate the terms of the current agreement or negotiate a new bilateral trade agreement with Costa Rica if our current agreement is rejected. That is not the case," Schwab warned.

"The agreement we reached with Costa Rica is a balanced agreement that is strongly in the national interests of both of our countries. It was concluded only after lengthy and difficult negotiations involving five of Costa Rica's neighbors, which already are enjoying the benefits of the agreement," she said.

"It is difficult to imagine any US administration renegotiating the current agreement or negotiating a new trade agreement with Costa Rica if this agreement is rejected. The opportunity for Costa Rica to enjoy the benefits of regional free trade is now," said Schwab.

Other trade deals are coming up for votes soon. Charlie Rangel has worked closely with Schwab. The Peru deal just passed out of the committee by a vote of 18 to 3. Charlie has a history of wanting to keep things under wraps and catch hell later.

Rangel..."bam, seal it and catch hell"

"Every time we had them all together, someone jumped off," Rangel told reporters after the meeting, referring to that group. "So we said, we can't wait for the Caucus. When we got everybody holding hands, bam! Seal it and catch hell. We did both." The fact that Rangel now admits the Chamber of Commerce was so intimately involved in the negotiations may explain why the Chamber continues to say it has received "assurances" that the much-touted labor provisions in the deal will be rendered unenforceable.

And more on the Peru trade bill coming up soon.

Peru trade deal out of committee 18 to 3....looks like it is set for passage.

Remember the press conference in May called by Pelosi? Labor advocates in Congress were not told about it ahead of time. This refers to that.

....By May, Schwab will close this deal, and the press will label it "historic." In return for Democratic support, the administration will - for the first time ever - agree to global standards for protecting workers and the environment. Paulson and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will stand side by side at a late-night Capitol Hill press conference to celebrate their bipartisan good will. Schwab and her staff will pop bottles of champagne. At last, after months of roller-coaster negotiations - and after the most painful year ever in her personal life - Schwab will be able to take credit for saving America from protectionism.

The words of the Chamber of Commerce head, Thomas Donahue should ring in our ears when this subject comes up.

The US Chamber of Commerce welcomed the bipartisan deal, saying it would secure support for Congressional approval of the four pending bilateral trade agreements... (Said Tom Donohue, president and chief executive of the world's largest business federation.) "we are encouraged by assurances that the labor provisions cannot be read to require compliance with ILO Conventions."

I hope our party does not adopt the GOP policy of getting things done in secret and making them public when it is too late.

[madfloridian]

1. More: U.S. warns Costa Rica against rejecting CAFTA

U.S. warns Costa Rica against rejecting CAFTA

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Costa Rica could lose valuable access to the U.S. market if the country rejects a free-trade agreement with the United States when voters go to the polls on Sunday, a top U.S. official said.

The United States respects Costa Rica's sovereign right to decide whether to join the pact, "but, I hope whatever decision is made is based on the facts," U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said in a statement on Thursday.

..."The warning came as Costa Rica prepared to vote Sunday on whether to join the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which the U.S. Congress narrowly approved in 2005. Some Costa Rican opponents of the pact have argued it could be renegotiated and improved if voters reject it.

About 100,000 Costa Ricans turned out last Sunday to protest the pact, a huge number in a country of 4 million.

[arcos]

2. kick

Thanks :hi:

[madfloridian]

3. Good Yahoo article...What Democracy Looks Like in Costa Rica

http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20071005/cm_thenation/1240265

"If Americans want to find evidence of democracy, they might look south to the Latin American republic of Costa Rica -- where voters will decide Sunday on whether they want their country to sign onto the Central American Free Trade Agreement that is currently being promoted by the White House, The Wall Street Journal and the multinational corporations that are the generous the patrons of both those institutions.

Imagine that: In Costa Rica, the people are being invited to participate in the debate over their economic future.

It is a concept so foreign to the United States as to be almost unimaginable. Yet, once upon a time, there was a lively debate in the U.S. Congress and this country's media about measures such as the Ludlow and Bricker amendments to the U.S. Constitution, proposals designed to give American citizens a real voice in decisions about whether to go to war and how and when the country will enter into multilateral treaty agreements.

Today, the members of Congress who are cheering on the democratic process in Costa Rica, such as Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, are ridiculed by the Wall Street Journal as opposing open markets and U.S. interests. Sanders is savaged for traveling to Costa Rica to reassure citizens there that voting against CAFTA will not mark their country as a pariah in the eyes of responsible U.S. officials. The senator's defense of democracy and citizen engagement is dismissed by the Journal as "as pure a distillation of the case for protectionism as you'll find outside the pages of Nation magazine..." Of course, The Nation has a long history of embracing enlightened internationalism, as does Sanders, but free-trade fundamentalists do not have much taste for the facts -- or for the will of the people.

So be it.

Democracy has never had many friends among the elites. But Sanders is right to celebrate the fact that, as he notes, "On Oct. 7, Costa Rica will become the first country where citizens have the opportunity to vote for or against a trade agreement."

[Gabi Hayes]

4. thanks for this thread, and for the sanders link.

our poor country......

I thought about moving to Costa Rica a few years ago, but now it's pretty much too late

[Gabi Hayes]

5. more here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1983530