The last formal congressional session of 2004 began yesterday. While certain mainstream media sources have mentioned likely congressional votes on spending bills left over from the October session, less has been said about the possible post-election effort to ratify the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). [1]  The Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad (CIS)   joins the Stop CAFTA Coalition  in urging U.S. Citizens to contact their elected officials in Congress during this "lame duck session" to voice their opposition the trade agreement. We need to call and write our Senators and Representatives to ensure that CAFTA does not slip through Congress during this traditionally low profile session.

You can find contact information for Senator's and House Representative's Washington, DC offices at the following web site:

http://www.firstgov.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

It is important that you contact them even if they have already taken a stand against CAFTA. Your call, letter or email will let them know that you support their current position, while at the same time underlining the trade agreement's fundamental flaws.

Below are talking points, a draft letter, and a list of web resources for further reading about CAFTA.
 

1. Examining the results of NAFTA can give us an idea of the likely impact CAFTA will have on both Central America and the United States:

Sample letter to your elected officials:

Dear_____________,

I contact you today because of my concern that Congress will ratify the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) during this final 2004 congressional session. I ask that you vote 'no' to the implementing legislation of this trade agreement because of the threat it poses to living standards across Central America as well as in the United States. 

In Central America, importers and agribusiness in stand to benefit the most from CAFTA. The expanded "dumping" of U.S. agricultural products (namely basic grains like rice, beans and corn) in Central American markets will destroy already weak domestic food production. This blow to small-scale production will compel producers to sell and/or abandonment their plots, which in turn will promote a re-concentration in land ownership.  The limited profitability of basic grain production will obligate Central American nations to import even larger amounts to cover domestic demand, placing at greater risk national access to food in the event of further economic hardship. Those displaced from the agricultural sector will be forced to migrate to urban areas and abroad in search of work.

The picture is not much rosier for U.S. agricultural producers. The organization Public Citizen estimates that 33,000 small farms (under $100,000 in annual sales) in the United States disappeared during the first 7 years of NAFTA. The ratification of CAFTA will continue this trend, further opening the U.S. domestic market to foreign agricultural products, and setting further precedent for later liberalization of currently protected sectors (such as sugar).

Similarly worrisome is CAFTA's failure to protect basic labor rights, which are already abysmal in much of Central America. In a manner similar to the Chapter on Environment, it contains vague entreaties that signatory nations improve their domestic legislation. While the promise of new jobs in the region may prove illusory in its own right, more people working under unjust conditions and receiving an unjust wage will contribute little to the ultimate development of Central American societies.

The Central American Free Trade Agreement is just one manifestation of a trade model that, while creating macroeconomic success, has lowered the living standards of many across the Americas. For the well being of the citizens of our nation, as well as the residents of Central America, I ask that you vote against ratification of CAFTA.

I look forward to learning how you voted on this issue.

Sincerely,