USTR admits FTA might not go into effect on January 1, 2006 as planned

WASHINGTON, DC - Senior Democrats on the House Committee on Ways and Means sought clarification today from the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on the expected delay facing implementation of the U.S. - Dominican Republic - Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA).  According to recent news reports, USTR has indicated the DR-CAFTA will not take effect on January 1, 2006, as planned, because “several signatory countries are falling short of the deal’s commitments.” 

The potential delay centers around a shift in position by USTR a key issue in the CAFTA debate.  During CAFTA consideration, USTR said it was sufficient for countries to give effect to international obligations just by signing an international agreement.  Now USTR is saying that is not good enough - insisting that countries must change their domestic laws as well, a position long-held by Democrats.

“CAFTA was built on shifting sands,” warned Ranking Member Charles B. Rangel.  “The Bush Administration spent more time rounding up votes in Congress than it did crafting a meaningful, viable agreement to benefit all parties involved.  Now we’ve discovered their double-standard on international treaties - that’s not the way trade policy should be conducted.”

“Democrats have long sought to re-establish bi-partisan support for trade negotiations,” said Rep. Cardin.  “If we’d taken the time to work through CAFTA like we did with the recent US-Bahrain FTA, we could have crafted an agreement that passed muster on key issues such as labor standards and intellectual property.  We favor trade agreements in which countries change their domestic laws, but this benchmark cannot be applied selectively as USTR is attempting to do with CAFTA.”

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