U.S.
Representative Jan Schakowsky, ranking member on the Subcommittee on Commerce,
Trade, and Consumer Protection, today delivered a statement in the House of
Representatives expressing her opposition to the Central American Free Trade
Agreement (CAFTA). Representative Schakowsky opposed the agreement on the
grounds that it would eliminate U.S. jobs, would require inadequate labor and
environmental protections, and would lead to the exploitation of Central
American and Dominican workers.
Representative
Schakowsky’s statement is below:
“Mr. Speaker, I rise
today in strong opposition to the Dominican Republic-Central America-United
States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (DR-CAFTA or CAFTA). This trade
agreement will eliminate thousands of American jobs without raising the quality
of life for Central Americans and Dominicans. It is an agreement written to
raise profits for multinational corporations at the expense of workers and the
environment in the U.S. and the CAFTA countries. CAFTA should be renegotiated
or voted down.”
“There is wide,
bipartisan opposition to this bill here in the Congress because it endangers
workers and jobs in the U.S. and abroad, it endangers our economy and it
endangers the environment. Opposition to Congressional ratification of this
flawed agreement also runs deep outside of the Congress, throughout this country
and the other signatory nations. The public as well as labor leaders,
environmentalists, economists, and business owners and the clergy all strongly
oppose the measure. Hundreds of thousands of Central Americans have taken to
the streets to protest CAFTA.”
“I strongly support
increased global trade for the United States. However, when negotiated, I
believe free trade agreements should place human and labor rights and the
protection of the environment on an equal par with the rights of capital. While
CAFTA provides extensive protections for goods and capital, it provides no new
protections for workers or the environment, and allows the signatory nations to
do nothing more than enforce their own laws on labor and the environment.”
“Implementation of
CAFTA would further the failed experiment that was NAFTA. As a result of NAFTA,
my home state of Illinois has suffered the loss of over 100,000 jobs. The
nation has lost almost 1 million jobs due to the displacement of production that
supported them prior to the implementation of NAFTA. Free trade agreements like
NAFTA and PNTR for China perpetuate the race to the bottom in the global
economy. They lower working and living standards for workers in other countries
and kill jobs in the United States. CAFTA’s effects would be no different.”
“The labor provisions
in CAFTA are intentionally unenforceable. Violations of core labor standards
cannot be taken to dispute resolution. The commitment to enforce domestic
labor laws is subject to remedies weaker than those available for commercial
disputes. This violates the negotiating objective of current U.S. trade law
that equivalent remedies should exist for all parts of an agreement. Further,
the ‘enforce your own laws’ standard allows countries the opportunity to rewrite
and weaken their labor laws to attract investment.”
“Instead of pursuing
policies that undermine the rights and security of U.S. workers and workers in
other countries, the United States should lead the world by example through a
trade policy that improves the lives of individuals and does not just add to the
profits of major corporations. Our policies should benefit workers here in this
country, create and sustain jobs and help our small and medium-sized and
family-owned businesses grow. CAFTA will not accomplish those goals nor will it
offer better opportunities to the people of Central America and the Dominican
Republic.”
“The abysmal working
conditions in Mexico should serve as a sign of what CAFTA will bring to Central
America and the Dominican Republic. The Mexican middle class that was supposed
to arise as a result of NAFTA is missing. I visited Ciudad Juarez on the tenth
anniversary of NAFTA. Instead of finding a thriving Mexican middle class, I
found workers living in the packing crates of the products that they were
manufacturing. The poverty rates and disparities in wealth in Mexico have
actually grown since NAFTA. CAFTA would just spread those conditions further
south by offering multinational corporations new opportunities to profit off the
backs of low-wage workers.”
“I dispute the attempts
by free trade proponents to reduce the debate to a choice between ‘free trade’
and ‘no trade’, ‘this agreement’ or ‘no agreement.’ We can do better. We can
achieve our economic objectives and moral responsibilities through responsible
trade. And we can and should go back to the drawing board and fix CAFTA if we
want to protect workers and the environment and give the people of the DR-CAFTA
countries the chance for a better future. I urge my colleagues to vote no on
CAFTA so that we can renegotiate this flawed trade agreement.”