DR-CAFTA

I signed a petition re: the following info weeks ago.
Below you'll see some information re: the issue and below that you'll
see a response I recieved from our Congresswoman after signing the petition.

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The DR-CAFTA (Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement) passed the U.S. Senate on June 30, 2005 by a vote of 54 to 45. The Agreement has now moved to the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote. If the DR-CAFTA passes the house, it will have serious consequences for wildlife, habitat, farmed animals and marine creatures. The new regulations will enable U.S. meat producers to expand markets into Central America, and open previously protected waters to commercial fisheries. The Agreement is supported by the American Meat Institute and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, who have already announced their intention to expand the market. If the DR-CAFTA passes the House, U.S. agriculture exports would be increased by approximately $1.5 billion per year, much of it from animal products.

The Agreement involves large, corporate farms that are notorious for animal cruelty.

Like most free trade agreements, the DR-CAFTA caters to corporations and would supercede a country’s own laws, such as environmental and animal protection legislation, replacing those laws with international, corporation-friendly legislation. If a country interferes with a corporation’s ability to make a profit (by enforcing animal protection legislation, for example), then the corporation may sue the country for millions of dollars.

For more information about DR-CAFTA, visit http://stopcafta.org/groups.php and http://ga0.org/campaign/DRCAFTA/explanation.

Please contact your U.S. Representative and urge him/her to vote against DR-CAFTA. http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home .

A vote on the DR-CAFTA is planned for the week of July 11, 2005 so you must act quickly!!

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Thank you for expressing your thoughts regarding the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA). I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond.

DR-CAFTA is a proposed free trade agreement between the United States and five Central American nations: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. The Dominican Republic, having completed separate negotiations with the United States, was added to the agreement in a subsequent signing by all parties.

DR-CAFTA would strengthen long term development and economic reform in these countries. The U.S. currently suffers high tariffs on trade with this region. President Bush has asked Congress to support his initiative to allow free trade and create jobs. This agreement would provide the United States with a critical tool in liberalizing trade in the region. Nevertheless, whatever the intended benefits of a free trade agreement, I remain cautious and sympathize with your reservations. Free trade agreements should not infringe on U.S. jobs and negatively affect our economy. Free trade should be beneficial for all sides. NAFTA was not a benefit for most U.S. industries, and I want to ensure we do not make the same mistake with DR-CAFTA.

Knowing your keen interest, I will thoroughly examine the merits of this issue to ensure the U.S. is not giving up jobs. Once again, I appreciate you sharing your thoughts with me.

I thank you for your concern regarding this very important matter and I hope you will continue to share your thoughts and views with me. It is my honor and privilege to serve the people of Florida's 5th Congressional District and my offices and staff are here to provide you with any
assistance you may need.

Sincerely,
Ginny Brown-Waite
Member of Congress

I'm a huge supporter of free trade, but I believe it should be done correctly. We need to insure that we aren't killing the environment. You can't just do 1 thing. You have to adjust for change and that's not being done in this situation. I'm not for throwing the DR-CAFTA out, but I'd like to see some revisions.