Congress is getting set to debate the trade agreement with Central America known as CAFTA. It’s something Coloradans need to look at very closely. History has shown us that trade deals like CAFTA result in only one thing: job losses – and lots of them.
From the perspective of a banker who has worked closely with Colorado ranchers, farmers and related businesses for more than 25 years, I am concerned that the only thing that CAFTA will accomplish is the continuation of the precipitous decline of the American farmer here in Weld County and around the country. I’m also deeply concerned that CAFTA will unnecessarily divide Colorado’s agricultural community.
If approved, CAFTA will allow Central American producers of agricultural products to dump even more of their government-subsidized products on the U.S. They do so at prices that don’t even match the real cost of production. I know how hard Colorado’s farmers work to produce a quality product at a fair price. Why are we further trading away their ability to compete for the benefit of six nations whose total economic output is less than that of the Denver metropolitan area?
Many of the Colorado businesses that will be affected by CAFTA have been here for more than 100 years, including the state’s sugar-beet growers and processors. Colorado’s sugar-beet industry is largely responsible for the development of many communities along the South Platte River. Are we telling these communities and their school districts and merchants that they are simply expendable?
It’s not just the state’s sugar-beet growers who are alarmed by the effects of CAFTA. The Colorado Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization, has taken a stand against CAFTA. This position is in direct conflict with its national organization – the American Farm Bureau. The organization has stated that its conclusion is that CAFTA will simply pit farmer against farmer. In some cases, it pits neighbor against neighbor. Other groups, such as the Rancher-Cattlemen’s Action Legal Fund and the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, have also stated their strong opposition to CAFTA.
It is unfortunate that among all of the state’s commodities, sugar is the one that was hung out to dry when this agreement was negotiated. The Denver Post acknowledged in a March 26 editorial that sugar will pay a heavy price under CAFTA. In its editorial, the paper proclaims, “Congress shouldn’t let one industry” dictate policy. That’s easy to say if it is not your ox that’s being gored. And it’s not just sugar that is threatened.
The producers of beans, cattle, sugar and wheat in my community can compete with anyone in the world. But there is no real competition when the economics are so manipulated by these out-of-sync trade agreements. The playing field is further tilted by the fact that the working conditions and environmental standards seen in each of these Central American countries would be illegal in the United States. In these countries, many workers earn less than $2 a day. With that pay scale, where are the consumers in Central America who will step up to buy U.S. technology or manufactured goods as a result of CAFTA? The truth is that CAFTA is a one-way street whose primary export is American jobs.
In Weld County, I’m surrounded by some of the richest and most productive agricultural land anywhere. Hard-working families in this part of Colorado are growing crops that find their way to our grocery store shelves and our dinner tables every day. If we let CAFTA take farm commodities out of the American economic equation, we are not only sacrificing industries that impact real people in Colorado, we are also putting at risk our nation’s ability to compete globally.
The question members of Congress and every American should ask is, “How willing are we to create further dependencies on so-called trading partners who are taking over yet another U.S. industry?” If you don’t think this can happen, just look at so many other industries that have cut the cord with American workers. Many of these workers mistakenly believed they would never find their industries moved offshore.
Free trade makes sense if it is fair. There is nothing fair about CAFTA. It is certainly not worthy of our support.
