CAFTA: Costa Rica Balks at U.S. Trade Demands

[arcos]

Costa Rica Balks at U.S. Trade Demands

The Bush administration's drive to reach a free trade agreement with five Central American countries suffered a setback Tuesday when Costa Rica balked at U.S. demands and said it needed more time before it would be ready to complete a deal.

<snip>

The Bush administration hopes to use a successful free trade deal with Central America to re-energize discussions over a bigger goal - creation of the world's largest free trade area covering the 34 democracies in the Western Hemisphere. Those talks have snagged over disputes between Brazil and the United States on how comprehensive the free trade agreement should be.

<snip>

Costa Rica withdrew from the bargaining Tuesday over U.S. demands that it open up various service sectors, including telecommunications and insurance, to foreign competition.

``Obviously services is a critical issue for us,'' Richard Mills, a spokesman for U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, told reporters. ``Costa Rica has a monopoly in telecommunications and insurance ... so these issues have to be addressed.''

<snip>

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-3514662,00.html

[Say_What]

1. Council on Hemispheric Affairs see thousands of farmers losing w/ CAFTA

<clips>

CAFTA Would Likely Cause Thousands of Central American Farmers to Lose Their Jobs as Highly Subsidized U.S. Agricultural Goods Flood Their Markets

* The countries of Central America — with predominantly agricultural economies — stand to gain little trade benefits from the proposed Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), as most of their exports already enter the U.S. duty free under the Reagan-era Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI).

* CAFTA will not lead to job creation within the United States, but is almost certain to accelerate the continuation of manufacturing job loss.

* Washington-pressed CAFTA talks could be useful to U.S. trade negotiators by providing additional leverage against South America in faltering FTAA negotiations.

* Washington will overlook corruption and drug trafficking in Central America so as not to delay the trade agreement.

In January 2002, President Bush announced his intention to “explore a free trade agreement with the countries of Central America,” modeled after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and as another precursor to the proposed region-wide Free Trade Area of the Americas, scheduled to be achieved by 2005. The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), whose members include Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua (negotiations with the Dominican Republic will begin in 2004), has undergone a series of negotiating rounds with the U.S. throughout the past year that are expected to conclude in the ninth and final gathering, scheduled to take place in Washington from December 8-12.

<http://www.coha.org/NEW_PRESS_RELEASES/New_Press_Releases_2003/03.73_CAFTA.htm>

[arcos]

2. I really hope CAFTA fails...

it will harm everyone involved and only benefit huge corporations.

[tlcandie]

3. I guess it's too bad that Iraq didn't have something worth making

this regime overlook Saddam's corruption. On second thought maybe they did and decided it was time that USA be the owner of it rather than Iraq. Guess that won't happen here, eh?


Taken from the above article:

<snip>
Washington will overlook corruption and drug trafficking in Central America so as not to delay the trade agreement.
<snip>

[lostnfound]

4. Dang CAFTA locusts. Don't ruin a beautiful country..

with homogenized, corporate uni-culture. Ugh. Costa Rica: oldest democracy in Latin America, highest percentage of land set aside for conservation, charming beautiful place, monkeys roam free in places.

[IndianaGreen]

5. Another nation being added to the "Axis of Evil"

I expect Otto Reich to be arriving in San Jose shortly before the riots start.

[Mountainman]

6. Wonder why the Repubs won't open perscriotion drug to foreign competition

Free markets to the Repubs means that only their friends get to provide competition and don't have to put up with it themselves. The new Medicare laws prohibits Americans from buying drugs from cheaper foreign sources.