TRADE MATTERS STOP THE CAFTA VOTE CAMPAIGN
Providing summarized updates on CAFTA
March 8, 2005
*************** CONTENTS **********************
1. Reports on action in the field
2. Updates on CAFTA in the U.S.
3. Updates on CAFTA in the region
4. Tips for contacting Congress on CAFTA
5. Welcome - purpose of list (repeat for new members)
********* REPORTS ON ACTIONS IN THE FIELD **********
STOP THE CAFTA VOTE
This is a one vote at a time campaign. Supporter will not introduce CAFTA to Congress unless they feel they have enough votes for it to pass. We must make sure they don't! Campaign members participated in numerous district meetings held during the February week of action with key members of Congress still on the fence with CAFTA or not publicly opposed to it. Visit the campaign site for more resources at
www.afsc.org/trade-matters/stop-the-cafta-vote
CENTRAL AMERICAN AMBASSADOR TOUR
The Central American Ambassadors tour around the country to promote CAFTA landed in three areas with "Friends of the AFSC Stop the CAFTA Vote" campaign including Charlotte, NC; Seattle, WA; and Denver, CO. Met by protests and press conferences, AFSC and others worked with Central American immigrants to challenge the ambassadors. They are now taking the traveling show to Sacramento, CA tomorrow, to DC on Tuesday, March 15th and then to Atlanta, Georgia and Alabama (details pending).
Counter events are being planned for each.
In Seattle, Latino leaders said NAFTA's first 11 years have harmed communities, farmers and workers in the U.S. and Mexico, and NAFTA's proposed expansion into Central America would be a disaster. "Latinos face a lose-lose situation with so-called free trade - many are forced to migrate from their home countries as a result of NAFTA-style policies only to find themselves criminalized for their immigrant status here and exploited by unscrupulous employers," said Maribel Martinez, a spokesperson for the Washington State chapter of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA).
In Denver, Gabriela Flora, Project Voice Regional Organizer, American Friends Service Committee, said, "Some of the poorest countries in the Hemisphere are in Central America and our experience in Mexico leads us to believe that CAFTA is sure to accelerate inequality and exacerbate poverty in the region".
*********** UPDATES ON CAFTA IN THE US ***********
WHEN WILL CAFTA GO BEFORE CONGRESS?
Supporters want a vote before Memorial Day. We will know for certain that CAFTA will be up for a vote if Congress begins the informal process for considering the draft implementing bill. This informal process triggers the deadlines prescribed under the "Fast Track" law. Once an implementing bill is submitted, the committees reviewing it must send it to the floor for a vote within 45 legislative days and a vote must take place within 15 days. Supports say CAFTA must go before Congress by the end of March, otherwise, it will be impossible to pass it before the July recess or risk having CAFTA pushed off the agenda because of the competing domestic priorities such as social security. (Inside US Trade 2/25/05)
NEW NATIONAL POLL ON CAFTA
A new research survey commissioned by Americans for Fair Trade found that 51% of U.S. Americans across all political parties oppose the CAFTA. Anti-CAFTA sentiment crosses party lines, with Republicans (47 to 37 percent) joining Democrats (53 to 31 percent) in opposition to the agreement. The loss of jobs was of greatest concern with an overwhelming 74% opposed to CAFTA when asked if they would favor or oppose the agreement if it reduced consumer prices but caused job losses. For more information visit www.americansforfairtrade.org
NEW REPORT ON NAFTA INVESTOR-STATE CASES
In a new report, "NAFTA Chapter 11 Investor-State Cases: Lessons for the CAFTA", Public Citizen describes how Canadian cattle producers are using NAFTA to demand $300 million in compensation from U.S. taxpayer funds, claiming that the Canadian cattle import ban instituted after mad cow disease was found in Canada violates their NAFTA rights. In addition, a Canadian tobacco company is using the private NAFTA tribunals to attach the U.S. tobacco settlements. The report documents how "fixes" to the
NAFTA investor protection model required by Congress in the 2002 "Fast Track" legislation were not included in the proposed CAFTA. CAFTA's investment provisions include several cosmetic, ineffective tweaks to the NAFTA investor protection language, but otherwise expand the system of new privileges and private enforcement to investors in six additional nations. The report is available at
http://www.citizen.org/documents/NAFTAReport_Final.pdf. RECIPIENT OF $700,000 USAID GRANT VIOLATE FEDERAL LOBBYING RESTRICTIONS
The grant set up a cooperative agreement between USAID and the Caribbean Central American Action (CCAA) group to provide initial funding for the Alliance for CAFTACTION, which CCAA said would be used to create a network of business and civil society leaders in Central America to implement CAFTA. The Alliance included members such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Chambers of Commerce for Central American countries.
At issue is a Declaration of Principles circulated by CCAA that states that signatories of the Declaration "ask our business partners and families in the United States to support our efforts to ratify and implement CAFTA." USAID's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) investigation only resulted in the group being ordered to change materials it distributed to supporters. Representative Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who requested the investigation in November, criticized the OIG report for failing to punish the CCAA with fines for violating federal and USAID lobbying restrictions. (Inside US Trade 3/4/2005)
********* UPDATES ON CAFTA IN THE REGION *********
NEW REPORT OF CA ACTIONS AGAINST CAFTA
The Alliance for Responsible Trade recently put out a brief report called "Central Americans Speak Out against DR-CAFTA: Major Issues and Mobilizations." For each country the report includes reasons for opposition and an updated list of demonstrations. Visit ART's website for a copy of the report at
http://www.art-us.org/docs/DR_CAFTA_0503.pdfEL SALVADOR
El Salvador was the first country to ratify CAFTA on December 12th after being introduced at 3:00 in the morning the Friday before Christmas and despite widespread opposition in the nation. The El Salvadorian Red Sitini Techan plans to introduce a motion to the Supreme Court that challenges the constitutionality of five provisions included in CAFTA. They also hope to bring such a motions to the Central American Court of Justice if and when other countries in the region ratify CAFTA.
HONDURAS
On March 3rd Honduras became the second country to ratify CAFTA. A vote on CAFTA was suddenly forced through the Honduras Congress, cutting off debate and violating the process previously agreed to. CAFTA was approved with a 100 to 28 vote by members of the National Assembly. Lawmakers immediately fled Congress following the vote, however, to avoid 1,000 government employees opposed to CAFTA who were protesting in front of the building.
GUATEMALA
About 8,000 protesters, the majority of them teachers, demonstrated in the capital on Tuesday, March 1st to demand a public referendum on CAFTA and that Congress not ratify the agreement. As a result of this outcry and protests in Honduras after the ratification of CAFTA, the Guatemalan Congress agreed to hold public hearings to allow civil society to testify in Congress on CAFTA. Guatemala's Congress will most likely vote on it later this week, and have talked about moving the vote to a hotel to avoid protests.
NICARAGUA, COSTA RICA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
So far the proposal has been stalled with growing protest in Costa Rica.
********* TIPS FOR CONTACTING CONGRESS ********
SAMPLE CONGRESS MEETING REQUEST LETTER
See below sample letter for requesting a meeting with your member of Congress during the next recess (March 21-April 1). Use fax numbers to get your requests in now.
Dear (staff scheduler's name):
On behalf of the __________________, I would like to request a meeting to discuss Representative __________'s positions relating to international trade policy. We would like to meet with Congresswoman
___________ during the spring recess March 21 - April 1, 2005 at her district office. We will be joined at the meeting by ___________ of ____________________, as well as other coalition partners.
We are eager to sit down with Congresswoman ____________ to discuss the impact of trade and investment treaties on her congressional district, as well as nationally and internationally. In particular we would like to discuss issues relating to the impending Congressional vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).
As concerned citizens and voters, we are eager to discuss Representative ___________'s positions on the aforementioned issue and look forward to working with her. The meeting should last no longer than one hour.
I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me at
______________.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Visit
http://list.afsc.org/mailman/listinfo/trade-matters to view archives of this list. The first edition gave a good overview of the status of CAFTA in the US.
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