Hilda L. Solis: “tonight I rise in strong opposition to the Central American Free Trade Agreement, otherwise known as CAFTA, or DR-CAFTA.…”

“tonight I rise in strong opposition to the Central American Free Trade Agreement, otherwise known as CAFTA, or DR-CAFTA. CAFTA is largely based on the North American Free Trade Agreement, also referred to as NAFTA. By signing CAFTA, the Bush administration has ignored the mistakes that we know here in the U.S. because of NAFTA, and in fact, CAFTA is nothing more than what I would say NAFTA-plus. Ten years ago, NAFTA proponents promised increased wages and economic development in the U.S., Mexico, Canada and promised decreased migration. The agreement has failed on all accounts. Over 750,000 jobs in the United States have been lost due to NAFTA, and immigration to the U.S. has increased. Through NAFTA, the administration granted a gift to corporate interests who prioritize access to cheap labor first and working families last. Inadequate free trade agreements not only hurt the U.S. but they also hurt our neighbors. I recently visited Mexico and saw firsthand for myself the devastating consequences of NAFTA. In the Maquiladora zone in Cuidad Juarez and other border cities, wages are low, union organizing is suppressed and industrial pollution jeopardizes the health and safety of workers and residents. Now, those same U.S. jobs that were exported to Mexico are being sent to China, leaving the economic situation in many areas of Mexico worse off than before NAFTA.”