AFTA after CAFTA

Date: Friday, July 29, 2005 2:29 PM

JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

by Rob Sanchez
July 29, 2005 No. 1301

President Bush and his gang of free-trade fanatics in Congress aren't going to bask in the glory of their CAFTA victory very long. They are hard at work on a new free-trade agreement called the Andean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA). This FTA is being negotiated between Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and possibly Bolivia.

At first glance it might seem odd that Bush is negotiating with Columbia, the narco-gang headquarters of the world - that is until you learn how advantageous the move to Columbia will be for union hating companies like Wal-Mart. Narco-gangs like the Cali cartel aren't the only problem of course. Communist insurgencies like Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de Columbia (FARC) rule parts of Columbia and Ecuador. Oh well, if Bush can be chummy with the Chinese Communists he should have no problem rubbing shoulders with FARC.

Bush's motivation to negotiate with these South-American thugs is probably best explained by a Columbian union leader: "For more than twenty years Ive worked as a trade unionist in a country where union work is like carrying a tombstone on your back."

Columbia is a very bad place for labor, but it's a paradise for corporate thieves that don't mind giving protection money to the Columbian mafia. Columbia is a dream come true for corporations because instead of negotiating with unions and putting up with pesky strikers, they just hire hit squads to execute troublemakers. According to the National Labor School in Colombia, 172 unionists were killed there in 2002. Almost all the murders are carried out either by the military or by shadowy "paramilitary" organizations that are tied to both the government and the business elite.

One thing for sure, the globalists aren't happy with CAFTA, After CAFTA we will have AFTA, and then the FTAA.

To read more on what it will be like for American labor to compete in the globalized era of AFTA, go to this webpage:
http://www.cwa-union.org/international/union-to-union/colombia/HectorsWords.asp

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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/12199575.htm

Posted on Fri, Jul. 22, 2005

U.S.-Andean free-trade negotiators make progress in Miami

JOHN PAIN

Associated Press

MIAMI - The United States, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru have agreed on what the customs procedures and competition policy should be in their proposed free-trade area, but thorny issues such as agriculture still remain before the deal can be finished, negotiators for the countries said Friday.

The U.S.-Andean Free Trade Agreement will have 22 chapters on topics ranging from market access to intellectual property rules, but the countries have so far agreed on only four, said Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Bennett Harman. Negotiators had just concluded their 11th round of talks, which began in May 2004.

Representatives for the three Andean countries were optimistic that the deal could be concluded by the end of the year and then sent for approval to the Congress in each country. Harman said he hoped that could happen because they also made progress on many of the remaining chapters, but he wouldn't make any firm predictions.

"We prefer to say the sooner the better, but let the negotiations determine whether we're done," he said.

Oswaldo Molestina Zavala, Ecuador's chief negotiator, said the talks have helped ensure that the deal "is fair for all participants, and not just for one."

The three Andean nations already enjoy duty-free access to U.S. markets for thousands of products, including asparagus, cut flowers and clothing. Those breaks were given to help those countries reduce their economic dependence on illegal drug production and trafficking, but they expire next year.

The free-trade agreement would further slash or eliminate tariffs for the rest of the commerce between the U.S. and those countries, while Bolivia will likely be added to the pact. The U.S. had $23.52 billion in trade with the three countries last year, but ran a $6.97 billion trade deficit, according to the Census Bureau.

The Andean talks have fallen behind schedule, and the Bush administration has focused more recently on getting Congress to approve the Central American Free Trade Agreement. The sugar industry, labor groups and some Congress members have fiercely opposed that deal, saying it would hurt the U.S. economy. President Bush and many business groups contend it would create new markets for U.S. exports while helping those countries reduce poverty.

The Senate endorsed CAFTA last month on a 54-45 vote, but it faces near-solid Democratic opposition and only lukewarm GOP support in the House ahead of a vote planned for next week. Harman said it was too early to discuss whether an Andean agreement would have similar problems.

"We will only conclude an agreement that we are confident that we can achieve approval by our Congress," Harman said.

Negotiations have also stalled for another priority of the Bush administration - the hemisphere-wide Free Tree Area of the Americas.

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