Earl Blumenauer: “today most recognize we are part of a global economy, probably no more so than in my home State of Oregon.…”

“today most recognize we are part of a global economy, probably no more so than in my home State of Oregon. Unfortunately, the Central American Free Trade Agreement, CAFTA, is not the step forward that new trade agreements should represent. For me it is clear that CAFTA does not include adequate environmental and labor standards. It is time to put the dispute resolution process for labor on the same solid footing as we do for commercial issues. Most acknowledge that CAFTA countries lack the financial resources and technical expertise to enforce good labor and environmental practices, but we are not providing funding that could help overcome these obstacles. Additionally, CAFTA would seriously harm these countries that rely heavily on their agricultural sectors. Our egregious farm bill has locked us into subsidies that do not promote free trade and have already caused much harm to other countries' farmers. We need to pay attention to the hard lessons NAFTA imposed on struggling Mexican farmers. Couple these issues with our reluctance to help American workers hammered by trade and technological change, and CAFTA is not an agreement that I can support in its current form. ____________________”