The House passed the Central American Free Trade Agreement in dramatic fashion yesterday, a political triumph for the Bush administration that holds both promise and peril for Colorado business and agriculture.
Lawmakers increasingly wary of the impact of globalization made for a nerve- wracking result.
We welcome the removal of trade barriers between the U.S. and Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua and hope that increasing trade will bolster fragile Central American democracies and improve the livelihood of impoverished families.
But opponents of the treaty raised reasonable concerns – such as the impact on this region’s sugar-beet farmers and the possible loss of U.S. jobs or downward pressure on U.S. wages.
The Senate passed CAFTA last month, and it cleared the House 217-215 only after GOP leaders delayed the vote for 47 minutes to strong-arm members worried about the effects of globalization and agricultural imports on their states. Still, 27 Republicans defected to vote “no,” including Rep. Tom Tancredo of Littleton. The deal reportedly was done with a combo of threats and pork-barrel promises tied to mammoth energy and highway bills.
Tancredo said he sees the CAFTA arbitration provisions as unfavorable to the U.S. and worries it will allow back-door immigration. Rep. Diana DeGette of Denver felt CAFTA lacks means to enforce environmental and labor protections.
“We view it as an assault on the American workers,” said Steve Adams of the Colorado AFL-CIO. “Our jobs are going to go out of the country, and they’re creating these free-trade agreements only with countries that are severely depressed and pay very low wages.” Business interests prevailed.
“I think it can only be positive that all the trade barriers … are coming down,” said Chuck Berry of the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry.
CAFTA is expected to boost U.S. farm exports to Central America by $900 million a year within 15 years. But the Colorado Farm Bureau opposed it because it could set back the state’s sugar-beet industry. Even so, President Alan Foutz said the pact will be “in general a positive” for Colorado if forecasts are realized for the increased sale of wheat and cattle to Central America.
Washington can best ensure CAFTA’s success by being vigilant to make sure it is implemented fairly for all – especially U.S. and Central American workers.
