Trade deals coming up soon. Hard to follow as so much is being done without much media coverage. And without forthcoming words from Congress.
Global Trade WatchThe Bush administration notified Congress of its intent to negotiate a trade agreement with the South American countries of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia in November of 2003. The idea was to create an Andean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA). Like CAFTA, AFTA would be another piece to add to the FTAA jigsaw puzzle and is based on the same failed NAFTA model, which has caused the "race to the bottom" in labor and environmental standards and promotes privatization and deregulation of key public services.
Because of the large territories of bio-diverse Amazon tropical rainforest and long histories of violence and unrest in the Andean countries, the mistaken application of the one-size fits all NAFTA model of trade in the region would likely have devastating consequences.
Despite heavy pressure from the Bush administration, the presidents of Ecuador and Bolivia have announced that they are not interested in NAFTA-style trade deals. But Peru and Colombia bowed to threats from the administration and Republican congressional leaders who threatened to end the countries’ existing access to U.S. markets if they didn’t sign up for full fledged NAFTA deals. The result was the U.S.-Peru and U.S.-Colombia “free trade” agreements (FTAs).
"Putting a new roof on a condemned building" is the way Global Trade describes the efforts going on now.
Incoming Democratic House and and environmental Senate leaders had long been critical of the weak labor rights provisions in the deals. But, as Public Citizen and the large coalition of labor, environmental, Latino, small farm, and faith groups have long argued, the unacceptable labor provisions are just the beginning of what needs to be fixed so that these agreements meet a minimal “do no harm” test.
Unfortunately, this May 2007 brought shockingly bad news. A handful of Democrats in the House of Representatives struck a "deal" with President Bush on the Peru and Panama FTAs that could pave the way also to the passage of the Colombia FTA and even to more Fast Track trade negotiating authority for President Bush. The deal makes needed improvements to the labor and environmental provisions, but unfortunately leaves in almost all the bad NAFTA-style provisions that fair trade groups demanded be taken out. Thus, the deal only puts a new roof on a condemned building.
I have been keeping an eye out trying to figure out what is going on with the trade agreements. I quite frankly do not understand all the ins and outs. But I do know that when press conferences are held by House Democrats before consulting with labor supporters in the caucus...something is missing.
Pelosi had the trade deal press conference without filling in labor voices in the caucus....But a half-dozen House Democrats with strong labor ties, watching the news conference from the back of the room, later expressed strong dissatisfaction with the process. The strongest voices for workers and the environment were not included" in the negotiations and were not informed of the deal, said Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio.
..."I'm very disappointed that Speaker Pelosi held a press conference before meeting with the caucus," said Rep. Michael Michaud, D-Maine. "In a democratic process Democrats ought to know."
And I have followed it since Rangel proclaimed it was easier to seal it slip it through and then catch hell. Not a very democratic way of doing business.
Rangel..."bam, seal it and catch hell"RANGEL BRAGS THAT DEALMAKERS PRIORITIZED GOP AND K STREET CONCERNS OVER DEM CAUCUS: CongressDaily reports that Rangel bragged to reporters that the reason dealmakers kept negotiations secret - and perhaps the reason why the legislative language remains secret - is because they feared rank-and-file Democrats would oppose the concessions that were needed to appease the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, GOP Sen. Charles Grassley (IA), GOP Rep. Jim McCrery (LA) and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT), who last year traveled to India to trumpet job outsourcing. "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.
It was Thomas Donahue, Chamber of Commerce president, who said he had been assured that the labor provisions were unenforceable.
More info updated at the
Eyes on Trade blog.
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