Resolution in opposition to CAFTA

WHEREAS Free Trade Agreements (FTA's) have uniformly failed to deliver on their promise of economic prosperity either to US or foreign communities, but instead have concentrated economic power in the hands of large multinational companies and widened the gap between working people and investors, at home and abroad; and

WHEREAS, the Central American Free Trade Agreement's (CAFTA) labor and environment provisions fail to meet core international standards, lack effective enforcement mechanisms and are inadequate to protect labor rights, environmental quality, and public heath; and

WHEREAS, language in CAFTA undermines environmental, public health, and labor, laws by giving foreign corporations the right to sue governments when domestic laws reduce anticipated profits, and further, to bring suit before international tribunals which meet in secret, exclude comments from the public, and which provide no recourse or appeal to established state, national, and international legal systems; and

WHEREAS, CAFTA rules place property interests of companies above the rights of citizens to use the democratic process to enact laws and regulations in the public interest, including prevailing wage laws, green purchasing requirements and other practices; and

WHEREAS, CAFTA significantly expands patent monopolies for pharmaceutical corporations, thereby restricting access by Central American countries to affordable life-saving medicines, including vital AIDS drugs; and

WHEREAS, CAFTA also expands patent rights to cover living organisms, genetic material, genetically modified seeds, and even naturally occurring plants that have been cultivated for generations, thereby threatening the independence and well-being of small farmers and indigenous peoples; and

WHEREAS, CAFTA represents a critical missed opportunity to ensure that global economic development is based on fair labor practices, environmental sustainability, and protection of human rights;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the 46th District democrats support the reform of international trade agreements and institutions to address the following key principles:

• Trade agreements should not be used to weaken the labor, environmental, and health protections that nations have developed for their citizens and for the general environment, nor should they be used to circumvent core international standards or established legal systems.
• Trade agreements should reflect an appropriate balance between commercial interests and the legitimate public interest in ensuring access to life-saving treatments for HIV/AIDS and other critical diseases, in protecting biodiversity, and in protecting the traditional rights of farmers and indigenous peoples.
• Trade agreements should include provisions that protect strong labor and environmental practices, and these provisions should be enforced by measures at least equivalent to those that protect commercial interests.
• Negotiations and dispute resolution activities related to trade agreements should be conducted in a democratic and open manner that ensures inclusion of labor , human rights, and environmental standards, and that provides standing for all involved stakeholders.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the 46th District Democratic Executive Board opposes the proposed Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) because it neglects to uphold these principles.

Adopted by the Executive Board of the 46th District Democrats on July 5, 2005