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May 25, 2005
CAFTA
The Central American Free Trade Agreement (the next step between NAFTA and the FTAA) is a terrible idea. It could have been a good one, but it's been botched.
Let's not support it.
CAFTA is supposed to open up trade between the U.S., and our friends to the south: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic.
But it does so without applying sufficently stringent standards on these countries.
Consider how stringent the EU is in accepting new members. If a country wants to join, it much first bring its internal governance into synch with EU norms: environmental laws, regulations for banking, insurance and finance, labor and workplace safely rules, along with reasonable strong and uncorrupted enforcement of those provisions.
We should do the same. Why accept free trade areas with countries that have a worse environmental record than we do? Think about that, worse on the environment then President Bush.
Let's start with results. Then we'll open up a free trade area.
Posted by James Fichter at May 25, 2005 10:41 AM
