Chris Van Hollen: “today, after much deliberation, I decided to cast my vote against the Central American Free Trade Agreement. After…”

“today, after much deliberation, I decided to cast my vote against the Central American Free Trade Agreement. After careful review, I have concluded that the benefits of CAFTA are likely to flow to a few powerful economic special interests at the expense of working men and women in the United States and Central America. It is my hope that a `no vote' will encourage the President to go back and re-negotiate the labor and environmental provisions of CAFTA so that everyone, not just a few special interests, will experience the rewards of free trade. The Bush Administration offered as one of its reasons for negotiating this agreement that the growing economic prosperity in Central America as a result of CAFTA would pull Central Americans up from poverty to become enthusiastic consumers of American goods. But by not sufficiently addressing the issue of weak labor protections throughout Central America, the Bush Administration neglected an important tool that could help make this dream a reality. According to the Administration, CAFTA adequately addressed labor concerns by requiring that each country enforce its own labor laws. Ordinarily, I would not object to this. Similar language is included in some of the other FTAs I have supported in the past. But what is troubling about CAFTA is that, while Central American countries may indeed have worker protections on the books, they have a dismal record of enforcing them.…”