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12/08/2003 Activists Gather in DC to Oppose CAFTA
From December 7-16, there will be a series of actions and protests against the final negotiations of the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement, which the United States Trade Representative describes as "an agreement to eliminate tariffs and other barriers to trade in goods, agriculture, services, and investment between the United States and Central America," that will be held December 8-12 at the Mayflower Hotel in downtown Washington DC. CAFTA is a trade agreement being negotiated by government representatives from the United States, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. It is modeled after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The Bush regime initiated CAFTA in 2002 and hopes to have an agreement sealed as quickly as possible, in part to move the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) negotiations forward faster (see the FTAA IMC).
All the same problems human, environmental and labor rights organizations have with NAFTA (and the FTAA) are present in CAFTA. These include the negotiations' lack of transparency; probable provisions to allow corporations to sue governments when laws hinder potential profits; privatization of public services and utilities;reduced labor rights; increased economic instability and financial speculation; favoring subsidized agribusiness at the expense of small farmers; and environmental destruction. The little known Plan Puebla Panama is also an integral part of CAFTA.
[ DC Indymedia feature | Stop CAFTA | Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador ]
posted by Nathan Hall at 12/08/2003 03:19:00 PM link |
