"FREE TRADE" Q & A
What is the Free Trade Area of the Americas?
The FTAA would expand the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has already had disastrous effects in Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, to all of the countries in the Western Hemispere except Cuba. Like NAFTA, the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, and other ‘free trade’ agreements, the FTAA seeks to free corporations from government regulations which they say restrict the ‘free market’. This means that if our elected representatives, from the federal government down to local city councils and boards of education, make laws that a foreign-owned company feels infringes on their ‘right’ to make money, the company can sue for monetary damages and force us to change our laws. This includes social institutions such as public education, health care, and social security, as well as environmental laws! top
 Have ‘free trade’ agreements benefited workers in the U.S.?
No. Nationwide, net job losses from U.S. international trade deficits totaled 3,044,241 from 1994 to 2000- that’s equal to 2.3% of the nation’s total workforce! Job losses have shot up six times faster since NAFTA and the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules than during the five years immediately before they went into effect. 65% of the jobs lost in the U.S since NAFTA’s implementation have been in the manufacturing sector. What’s more, employers have a new way to threaten workers when they try to organize a union. In 62% of companies in “mobile” industries where workers were trying to organize a union, management countered with threats to move to Mexico. top
Have Mexican workers benefited from ’free trade’?
 No. New ‘maquiladora’ plants near the U.S. border hired about 500,000 workers, but over 1.4 million jobs were lost as tens of thousands of businesses closed between 1994 and 1998. What’s more, the new maquiladoras so not pay workers a living wage. The cost of living in Mexico is now triple what it was in 1994, but wages are 27% lower than their 1994 level. The number of Mexicans living in poverty has increased by almost 20%, and the minimum wage in Mexico has lost nearly half of its purchasing power. Mexico’s small farmers have been particularly hurt under NAFTA’s provisions. top
What kinds of laws are in danger under free trade agreements?
Under the FTAA corporations would get the right to directly sue governments for any measure that could potentially hurt profits. Under NAFTA, companies have already used a similar provision (known as Chapter 11) to press for compensation. Corporations have won enough victories to have a chilling impact on democratic governance. The Ethyl Corporation forced Canada to pay $13 million in damages and to drop its ban on MMT, a gasoline additive that contains toxins that attack the human nervous system. Canadian-based Methanex corporation is suing the U.S. for $970 million dollars in lost business expectations because California banned the use MTBE, another harmful gasoline additive. U.S. waste disposal company Metalclad sued the Mexican Government when a Mexican state refused to allow a waste disposal plant to re-open due to it’s negative environmental impact. The Mexican government was ordered to pay Metalclad $17 million. Canadian-based Funeral Home chain the Loewen group, found guilty of fraudulent business practices by a Mississippi jury in 1995, is suing the U.S. government for $750 million in damages, claiming that the state court system constituted a violation of its investor rights. top
What are the alternatives to ‘Free Trade’?
Opposing ‘free’ trade does not mean isolationist or protectionist opposition to all trade. A fair trade agreement would not favor the rights of corporations to make profits over our democratic rights. A fair trade agreement would be publicly debated with input from community, labor, and environmental groups, not negotiated in secret by government officials. A fair trade agreement would ensure that when environmental, labor, or human rights come into conflict with commercial interests, our rights win out! top
How can we stop Fast Track and the FTAA?
To defeat the FTAA, we must localize the movement for global justice by connecting the FTAA with local struggles for the right to organize, a decent standard of living, good public services, and a clean and safe environment. We must let our elected leaders know that we oppose trade deals that favor corporate interests over the rights of workers and the environment.
Call your Representatives in Congress.
Learn more and educate others about the devastating impacts of NAFTA and the FTAA.
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