Sanders to Vote No on Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) Today
SANDERS TO VOTE NO ON CENTRAL AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (CAFTA) TODAY
7/27/2005
Unfettered free trade has led to the loss of millions of decent-paying U.S. jobs
Tonight, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Congressman Sanders will vote against this agreement, which continues our disastrous trade policy and would result in the further loss of decent-paying U.S. jobs.
Sanders said, "The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is a bad deal for American workers. It is a continuation of a failed trade policy which has given us a record breaking trade deficit and has cost us millions of decent paying jobs as large corporations throw American workers out on the street and move to low wage countries. The bottom line is that workers in the United States should not be forced to compete against desperate people who make pennies an hour. We need a trade policy which protects the middle class of this country and poor people around the world, and not just the CEOs of multi-national corporations. That's why I'll be voting against CAFTA."
CAFTA expands upon the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico and Canada to include 5 Central American countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua) and the Dominican Republic. Sweatshops, child labor, horrendous working conditions, extremely low pay and the abuse of workers have been well-documented in these countries for years by Human Rights Watch, the National Labor Committee and other Non-Governmental Organizations. CAFTA would completely eliminate U.S. tariffs on all non-textile and non-agricultural products made in Central American countries and the Dominican Republic immediately, and phase in the duty-free treatment of other Central American goods entering the U.S. within 5-20 years. As such, CAFTA would provide enormous incentives for U.S. corporations to close more factories in the U.S., and open factories in Central America where cheap labor is abundant.
Sanders said, "We need to stop rewarding U.S. corporations who ship our jobs overseas. Instead, they should start investing in job creation here at home. Unfortunately, CAFTA will continue to make jobs our number one export and must be defeated in Congress."
Sanders is the author of legislation to repeal Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China and will be re-introducing the Defending American Jobs Act to prohibit companies that lay-off a greater percentage of American workers than overseas workers from receiving corporate welfare from the federal government.
Sanders concluded, "Our trade agreements with China, Mexico, and other third-world countries have led to the loss of millions of decent-paying U.S. jobs and a record-breaking trade deficit that is projected to top $700 billion this year. Why on earth would we want to continue on this destructive path by enacting another job-cutting trade agreement like CAFTA?"
http://bernie.house.gov/documents/releases/20050727174557.asp