Bush clears way for Costa Rica to join CAFTA

[arcos]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush cleared the way on Tuesday for Costa Rica to formally join a regional free trade agreement between the United States, the Dominican Republic and four other Central American countries.

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"This step marks an important milestone in our relationship with Costa Rica, building on our strong economic and political partnership," U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said.

<snip>

It was the last of the five Central American countries to strike a deal with the United States, and then the last of all the CAFTA countries to ratify the pact.

Costa Rica's voters narrowly approved the trade deal in a referendum in October 2007, but the nation's lawmakers continued to haggle over its terms. The legislature finally voted to implement the agreement in November.

<snip>

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE4BM5...

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[Taverner]

1. Because our implementation of NAFTA worked so well

Seriously - it had potential. To us college students at the time it was billed as an EU-like policy. Too bad it was nothing like...

[awoke_in_2003]

2. Definate not EU-like

these free trade agreements are just a way to find the next pool of cheap labor.

[Acadia Blue]

19. Really? I never bought it, and perhaps because I took about 15 hours of

Economics. I realized that sooner or later, we would have nothing here and be just like Mexico. China and the other Bananna republics. It happend really fast under GW "thief" bush.

[Joanne98]

3. What's up in Costa Rica?

[The Sushi Bandit]

4. So Maui Sugar gets Screwed by Bush

by flooding the market with cheap sugar

[Wabbajack_]

9. I should pay more for Maui Sugar? Home come?

This doesn't help poor Americans and Costa Ricans?

[bluesmail]

5. I don't think so, Mr. President

[OhioChick]

6. Screw that! n/t

[Azlady]

7. NO Way! !!!

[robcon]

8. Great news. Cafta should be expanded more widely.

Free trade is a great benefit to every nation. Peace. Interdependence. Economic growth. Win, win, win.

[David__77]

10. That's the idea.

I'm a left-winger, and I do not believe that capitalism is the end of the road in terms of social development. But I do agree that peace and development are served by global economic integration, whether of the capitalist variety or not. Developing countries have a lot to gain, provided they utilize foreign physical and intellectual capital to develop domestic economy and not merely enrich a feudal style class of national traitors. China is on the whole a positive example of how to utilize foreign direct investment and export-oriented industries.

[bvar22]

16. I agree. China is a "shining example".

Industry and Commerce is run from a centralized single-party authoritarian Communist government.
Most polluted country in Asia and getting worse.
Massive pools of slave labor that are be coerced into compounds where ALL their needs and behaviors are dictated from Company HQ. Pregnant Female laborers are forced to get abortions.
Even talking about "Unions" is a death sentence.

Yes. China is a beacon of the inevitable results of "Free Trade".... a real workers paradise.

Thank You, Bill Clinton.

[David__77]

20. Ooga booga - communism!

McCarthy's time has come and gone... China has the right to its own social system. You're obviously misinformed. China has had the highest economic growth rate. It has gone from a starving feudal impoverished country to the fourth largest economy in the world, rapidly closing in on the moderately developed countries. In another 40 years, it will be a developed country like in Europe.

Cite evidence that "talking about unions" is a capital crime. No such thing. There is one union federation, but even the unrecognized ones operate in many circumstances. Peasants leave the countryside to work in those "compounds" because the pay is higher. I agree that the workers need better representation and working conditions, but I think that conditions are better there than in many comparably developed countries, like Indonesia, for instance.

[bvar22]

21. And do you also believe that....

...American Labor (Working Class) is just going to have to compete with peasants living in compounds in China?

[David__77]

22. Aren't they already doing so?

I don't get the point. Of course there's international competition. That's the way the US wanted it, right? Soon, you'll have to shift your ire from China to some other country, like Vietnam or Pakistan, where labor is cheaper. China is not considered an expensive labor market by some multinationals as wages rise there.

[bvar22]

24. "That's the way the US wanted it,"

No.
Thats the way the CEOs of the Global Corporations, the Republican Party and their co-conspirators in the Democratic Party (DLC) and Bill Clinton wanted it.

Organized LABOR, the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party, and Ross Perot loudly OPPOSED (and OPPOSE) the "Free Trade" treaties and MFN trade status for countries without equitable environmental protections and protections for LABOR......

Of course, we turned out to be 100% right, and are still right, but that is little comfort for the young man or woman entering the labor market in the USA today.

Until the American Worker has Universal single payer HealthCare, and the foreign trade partners have equitable Environmental regulations and Human (Labor) Rights protections, and Cost of Living parity, it will be a race to the bottom.
We are almost there.
I don't even see a viable way to fix the disaster. The money is already gone. The production infrastructure has been dismantled and sent overseas. American LABOR and the Working Class has NO representation in government, and very little representation in the Democratic Party.

I'm glad I'm old and was in the American Workforce before Reagan and Clinton (DLC) managed to work their magic on the American Working Class.
I'll do OK, but I weep for our country.

[Ian David]

12. Either you forgot the sarcasm tag, or you are morbidly misinformed. n/t

[Acadia Blue]

18. Its great racing to the bottom of the wage scale. After all American

workers don't matter, just the rich matter. And only the rich have benefitted from free globalization on the whole.
So support impoverishing more Americans. Soon they will be insourcing cheaper management and that is when the pigs will cry .

[Ian David]

11. Free Trade at the barrel of a death squad's gun. Nice. n/t

[ananda]

13. Good result for Costa Rica's rich and elite.

I guess they managed to swing the vote.

It's a very bad result for CR's poor,
workers, and the environment.

[starroute]

14. It's something the Chamber of Commerce pushed for really hard

The US Chamber of Commerce was pushing hard for CAFTA, both in Costa Rica through AMCHAM and in this country through lobbying and its various front groups. Costa Ricans really weren't happy about the idea, which is why there eventually was a nation-wide referendum.

There were a lot of threats at the time from CAFTA supporters warning of dire economic consequences if Costa Rica didn't join -- and even then, the victory was a narrow one. As I recall, opponents had concerns in particular about intellectual property rights as related to drug company exploitation of native medicinal plants -- which is the sort of thing that happens once you drop trade barriers.

I haven't been following the story lately, though -- hopefully the legislature there managed to get somewhat better terms in the deal.

[formercia]

15. Anything the Chamber of Commerce promotes is suspect.

IMHO.

[Acadia Blue]

17. The little thief will create more outsourcing to further impoverish

[conspirator]

23. Costa Rica is now the 52 state nt