Central American Free Trade Agreement

“I just now saw where Bush is pushing for this. I haven't had time to look into it but it sounds just like NAFTA to me.

Anyone familiar with it?”

“It's worse. It's NAFTA extended.

http://www.stopcafta.org/article.php?list=type&type=2”

“CAFTA bad bad bad, in this instance Bush bad bad bad, no more free trade vote against it whenever possible!!!!”

“great just what we need, more jobs to head south”

“Lou Dobbs had several programs about CAFTA on CNN. One person sent him an email something like this "NAFTA or CAFTA, what ever you call it, it's the American worker that always gets the SHAFTA."”

“For Sure.”

“I can't believe all the "progressives" aren't all for this. I mean it's going to help the poor people out in South America. Do you hate poor people or what?”

“Yes.”

“Glad to see most of you people coming around to the Buchanan point of view. I knew it would take some time and maybe a few lost jobs but it seems the watershed moment has arrived.
last edited: 5/31/05 4:47:08 PM”

“SH, I voted for Perot when he ran for president because he was against NAFTA. He knew what it would do to this country. Neither Bush Sr or Clinton had a clue now Bush Jr wants to run us in the ground somemore. The nut doesn't roll far from the tree”

“Don't be naive. Bush1 and Clinton knew exactly what would happen. And so did all the pols who passed the legislation. They did it for the corporations who paid for their campaigns. What they didn't figure is how far and how fast these trade agreements would take us down. They probably thought they would be long gone and everything would blamed on someone or something else. Look at this textile agreement with PRC. Since January of this year the Chinese have flooded the US and Europe with cheap textiles. Thousand are losing their jobs and now the pols are trying to back peddle. They should have thought of that when they caved to Bush1 and Clinton 5-15 years ago.”

“can't believe this hasn't gotten more discussion.

supposedly this is to help the american economy but all I see it doing is costing American workers jobs which in turn hurts the economy.”

“Bush is such a pansy.
Whatever happened to sending the marines into Central America and just taking what we wanted?”

“interesting statement I ran across about CAFTA

"says Rep. James Moran (news, bio, voting record) (D) of Virginia, who is working with Congressman Dreier to build bipartisan support for CAFTA, the Central America Free Trade Agreement.

Democratic support will be critical if the president is to win this vote, because many Republicans from manufacturing states hit by existing free-trade agreements plan to oppose it. "A lot of Democrats feel that the CAFTA votes is important for Central America, but don't want to go on record until the last minute because of fear that opposition from the Democratic leadership and its allies will make political life miserable for the next few months,"”

“CAFTA will be a good thing. We'll be able to outsource the jobs that Americans don't want to do.”

“I thought those were for the Mexican immigrants, Phaed...”

“what I want to know is why the Democrats think it is important for Central America, excuse me but shouldn't it be what is important for America first.


Tree, that is what I thought also. God knows we have been told that enough.”

“I figure that after we've outsourced all our jobs, we'll all be retired. That's gonna rule.”

“Senate Approves Central America Trade Deal By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer
21 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Fresh off a victory in the Senate, the Bush administration turned to the House in the drive to conclude a free trade agreement it says will promote democracy in Central America while opening new markets to American businesses.

The House vote, expected in July, on the Central America Free Trade Agreement is certain to be close, but supporters expressed new confidence Thursday after a 54-45 vote in the Senate.

The Senate win "was a huge momentum builder," U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman (news, bio, voting record) said, noting that only a few weeks ago analysts were saying the agreement was in deep trouble.

Since then, the Bush administration has turned up the heat, with President Bush personally lobbying lawmakers and his trade officials dangling concessions on labor rights and sugar, the agreement's two most contentious issues.

Ten Democrats joined 43 Republicans and one independent to vote in favor of the agreement.

In a statement following the vote, Bush said the agreement would be "good for American workers, good for our farmers and good for small businesses" and "help increase sales abroad and job creation at home.

"The agreement is also a strong boost for young democracies in our own hemisphere, whose success is important for America's national security and for reducing illegal immigration," the president said.

CAFTA would further open a market of 44 million people by eliminating trade barriers to U.S. manufactured and farm goods, protecting trademarks and other intellectual property and establishing legal frameworks for U.S. investment. Last year the region purchased about $15 billion worth of U.S. goods.

The administration says it is also an indispensable step toward far broader free trade agreements with other Western Hemisphere nations and under the auspices of the World Trade Organization.

In the House, supporters will go up against a strong majority of Democrats, who argue that inadequate worker rights provisions in the agreement will lead to labor abuses, lawmakers from sugar beet and sugar cane-growing areas, and others who link free trade to America's soaring trade deficits.

For people living in poverty, trade can lead to a better way of life, said Rep. Ben Cardin, D-Md., a Democratic leader on trade issues. "But trade without basic labor standards will not do that."

But CAFTA "is more than just a trade agreement," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., said. "It is also a commitment by the United States to stand with nations seeking open markets for its people in the pursuit of freedom and a strengthened democratic process."

Thomas' panel on Thursday endorsed the agreement on a 25-16 vote.

The United States signed CAFTA a year ago with the five Central American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua and the Caribbean nation, the Dominican Republic.

It won't go into effect until approved by Congress, and from the start that has been a far more difficult task than the bilateral agreements the administration has concluded with Singapore, Chile, Australia and Morocco.

The Hispanic business community has supported it but the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Hispanic human rights groups are against it. Some textile groups oppose it, while others say it would allow U.S. fabric makers and Central American manufacturers to team up to deflect the onslaught of Chinese competitors.

Representatives of the sugar industry have been adamantly opposed, saying it would open the way for other countries to seek a larger share of the U.S. market. But some lawmakers from beet and cane states decided to back CAFTA after Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns proposed steps that, at least for the short term, would protect the industry.

Florida's two senators, Republican Mel Martinez and Democrat Bill Nelson, both came out for the agreement despite the importance of sugar to their state. Nelson said Florida is the U.S.' largest exporter to the CAFTA region, and the agreement could substantially increase those sales.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said she had opposed another controversial pact, the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada a decade ago, but was backing CAFTA because the Central American countries, trying to emerge from years of civil war and political strife, deserved the chance for greater prosperity.

Denying them the agreement, she said, "is certainly not the way to reward them for advances made in the areas of democracy, human rights and the rule of law."”

“ironically we fought communism in central america for years, now we are fighting against them having open trading.”

“Columbia is the best drug dealer freind we have. You go George.”