Senate Judiciary Opinions on CAFTA and H-1B

Date: Thursday, July 17, 2003 2:34 PM

JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

www.ZaZona.com

http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=854

----- Sen Orrin Hatch -----

[Hatch is a long time supporter of H-1B but even he has reservations about what is
happening. Reservations or not, he is saying this bill must be rushed through for
approval]

While I support the principle of free trade and understand the benefits of agreements such
as these to the U.S. economy and job market, I will never agree to legislation that does
not reflect sound immigration policy. Just as I would never agree to any compromise of
national security for the sake of selling more products overseas, I would never sacrifice
the well-being of the hardworking Americans and their families by weakening our
immigration laws.

Prior to today's hearing, members of this Committee raised several concerns about a
variety of immigration issues. These include the potential for indefinite stay by the
foreign workers and the risk that foreign workers may be brought into the United States
to interfere with labor disputes.

Another concern that I have heard is whether this agreement and implementing language
could be viewed as circumventing the existing, sensitive numerical limits on H1-B
professional workers' visas.

I understand that many of our colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee have made it
clear that trade agreements many not be the best place to change immigration law and
policy.

I want to make sure that our two representatives from USTR today, Ms. Vargo and Mr.
Ives, will go back and give Ambassador Zoellick a message: Presenting the Judiciary
Committee with implementing language related to particular trade agreements that raise
general issues of immigration policy may not be the best path to travel in future trade
agreements.

>>> Earlier in the same letter Hatch said:

I wholeheartedly agree with Chairman Grassley that the full Senate should act on the
Chile and Singapore Free Trade Agreements before we adjourn in August, if it is at all
possible.

----- Senator Patrick Leahy -----

[It appears that some Senators are trying to get Bush to change the visa parts of the
agreement. In other words, they are improvising legislation that will affect the future of
Americans workers at this very moment. Leahy's concerns are appropriate but perhaps
too late]

Turning to the specifics of the draft implementing legislation, I was deeply concerned by
the original draft legislation proposed by the Administration. I thought that its provisions
would undercut the H-1B program by offering workers from Chile and Singapore a path
to entry that does not provide that program's protections and benefits for our domestic
workforce. Thanks to strong bipartisan objections expressed in Congress, particularly in
the House Judiciary Committee, many of the original draft's flaws have been corrected.
For example, I understand that the Administration has agreed to assess a fee for
temporary entry visas from Chile and Singapore that is equal to the fee associated with
H-1B visas. This is a step in the right direction, since those fees are used in part to fund
worker training programs designed as a longer-term solution to worker shortages.

I do have remaining concerns. For example, the visa created by the proposed legislation
would be indefinitely renewable. I believe there should be some durational limit such as
the 6-year limit placed on H-1B visas since these are termed as temporary entry
provisions. I am pleased, however, that the Administration has apparently accepted a
modest proposal by Representatives Conyers and Berman to count certain visa renewals
against the annual numerical caps that are included in the trade agreements.

In addition, the legislation should make clear that the Department of Labor can initiate
investigations into potential abuse of these visas, as it can where abuse is suspected in the
H-1B program.

These issues are important because these are not the last trade agreements we will see,
and our handling of these will set a precedent for the future. If we are going to change our
employment-based immigration system, Congress must be involved and we must do so
consciously, not simply through acquiescence to FTAs presented to us by the
Administration.

----- Ralph F. Ives, III -----
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Southeast Asia, the Pacific and APEC
[Ives defends CAFTA as being 1st class legislation, and thinks the visa portions "strike a
careful balance."]

The U.S.-Singapore FTA is a world-class agreement. It is the first FTA President Bush
has signed with any country and our first with an Asian nation. This Agreement provides
commercial and political benefits for both the United States and Singapore. Strengthening
economic ties helps secure strong political interests.

The FTA includes provisions for the temporary entry of business visitors, which
facilitates trade in services. These provisions strike a careful balance between the needs
of the U.S. services industry to provide competitive services while preserving the right of
Congress to legislate on immigration policy. The international mobility of business
persons has become an increasingly important component of competitive markets for
suppliers and consumers alike. U.S. companies developing new markets and business
opportunities need to be able to move their personnel quickly. These provisions address
only temporary entry and explicitly exclude citizenship, permanent residence, or
employment on a permanent basis.

----- Regina K. Vargo -----

Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Americas
Senate Committee on the Judiciary

[Vargo reveals that the Chile agreement was intiated by Dubya's Daddy. She said that the
international mobility of workers will benefit companies and consumers. The term
"benefits" could be translated to mean "cheap labor will increase profits for wealthy
CEOs]

Sound Economic Sense for the United States

In fact, discussions about a bilateral free trade agreement have been going on much
longer. As Ambassador Zoellick stated in his congressional notification last fall, the
origins of an agreement with Chile date back to the Administration of President George
H.W. Bush, when the first discussions were held regarding a possible Chile FTA. In the
mid-90's, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) countries (the United
States, Canada and Mexico) invited Chile to dock into the NAFTA. However, with the
subsequent lapse of what was then known as fast track authority, docking didn't appear
feasible. The United States and Chile instead initiated a Trade and Investment
Framework Agreement (TIFA) to facilitate bilateral trade and investment liberalization
and pave the way for a future FTA.

Of special interest to small business are the provisions that streamline customs
procedures and simplify rules of origin. These provisions will facilitate taking advantage
of the new trade openings. The U.S.-Chile FTA and the U.S.-Singapore FTA will be the
first FTAs anywhere in world to have specific, concrete obligations to enhance
transparency and efficiency of customs procedures. All customs laws, regulations and
guidelines are required to be published on the Internet. The private sector may request
binding advance rulings on customs matters. Additional provisions allow rapid release of
goods, including expedited treatment for express delivery shipments.

Temporary Entry. The international mobility of businesspersons, whether as individuals
or employees providing services, has become an increasingly important component of
competitive markets for suppliers and consumers alike. The United States has thousands
of knowledge-based companies that will be able to benefit from greater opportunities for
service providers overseas. Given that services now account for 65 percent of the U.S.
economy and that trade in services accounts for 28 percent of the value of U.S. exports,
the ability of U.S. business persons to temporarily enter foreign markets is critical. For
this reason, the agreement we negotiated with Chile provides unlimited temporary entry
for U.S. business visitors, traders and investors, intra-company transferees, and
professionals. The FTA also provides for up to 1,400 temporary entry visas into the U.S.
for Chilean professionals. These provisions address only temporary entry and explicitly
exclude citizenship, permanent residence, or employment on a permanent basis.

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Rob Sanchez is board member of NAEA - www.NAEA.US

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