[mobglob-discuss] FTAA Update Vol. 3 No. 29

[Gordon Flett]

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In this Update: 
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NYT Opposes Trade Deals 
Chile and Singapore - Pass the House 
New Orleans - CAFTA Talks 
Montreal - WTO Mini Ministerial 
COOL - Can Senate Save Labeling? 
Materials to Order 

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NYT Opposes Trade Deals 
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The New York Times spoke out last weekend against the
current models of trade agreements! "The Rigged Trade
Game, Harvesting Poverty" is a great position paper on
what is wrong with the agriculture trade around the world.
Take the moments to read is important Op-Ed page piece:

http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/Y1qNNmd1c7zh/ 

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Chile and Singapore - Pass the House 
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Thursday saw the passage of the Chile and Singapore trade
deals in the House of Representatives. The agreements
were the first under FAST TRACK and important for the
purpose of how to oppose trade agreements under those
restrictions. The bad models of language on labor rights,
the environment, immigration, and access of goods to the
US by passing through Singapore were all reasons that
groups fought passage.  

U.S. - Chile Agreement passed the U.S. House of Representatives
(270 for, 156 against) along with the U.S. - Singapore
Agreement (272 for, 155 against). There was no question
from the beginning of passage, but with hard work and
opposition many members of the House learned about the
problems with FTAA and CAFTA.  

Here are some quotes after passage: 

"CAFTA and FTAA include offensive terms on labor, environment,
investment, access to medicine and immigration, and as
a result, a vast array of Democrats and a significant
number of Republicans have realized that they will need
to oppose both of the pacts and thus decided to vote for
these two small pacts for political insulation." said
Lori Wallach, Director of Public Citizen's Global Trade
Watch 

"A substantial number of commitments were made to oppose
CAFTA and the FTAA if similar policies are included in
those agreements. Since we already know that those same
policies are included in draft texts, the majority of
those "yes" votes are commitments for "no" votes in the
future," said Gretchen Gordon, Director of the Citizens
Trade Campaign. "We're going to hold Members to those
commitments." 

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New Orleans - CAFTA Talks 
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The coming week will see yet another round of the talks
to create a regional trading block in Central America
(Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua)
with a trade agreement with the US. The push by the US
Trade Representative is to conclude the agreement by the
end of this year (talks began in January). By comparison,
the FTAA talks have been going on for 9 years. This week's
session will take place in New Orleans. Contents of the
CAFTA agreement are being kept secret, although it is
clearly modeled on the FTAA and NAFTA. 

http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/YdqNNmd1c7zn/ 

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Montreal - WTO Mini Ministerial 
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The 5 days of action against the World Trade Organization
(WTO) will kick off July 26th in Montreal. The WTO has
been holding these mini ministerial gatherings around
the world in an effort to pressure lesser developed countries
into cooperating with their agenda for the upcoming world-wide
meeting in Cancun in early September. 

A full calendar of events, including the five days of
action (July 26-30) is available on the website at: 

http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/QpqNNmd1c7zj/ 

Among the Days are: 
Saturday, July 26: TEACH-IN: WORDS ARE WEAPONS 
Sunday, July 27: NO ONE IS ILLEGAL 
Monday, July 28: DAY OF ACTION 
Tuesday, July 29: DEMONSTRATION 
Wednesday, July 30: ANTI-CAPITALIST CARNIVAL 

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COOL - Can Senate Save Labeling? 
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On July 14th the House was unable to restore the funding
for COOL (Country of Origin Labeling) to the Agriculture
Department. This important new feature in the Farm Bill
of 2002 requires that meats (and later other products)
be labeled with what country they came from. The corporate
interests which bring you imported meats don't want you
to know that what you are eating came from other parts
of the world. The appropriations bill for the USDA included
provisions prohibiting the use of money to implement the
labeling. 

Senator Charles Grassley has vowed to try to restore the
funding. COOL was to go into effect later this year. 

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Materials to Order 
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Trade Secrets: The Hidden Costs of the FTAA 
"Trade Secrets: The Hidden Costs of the FTAA" is a new
16 minute video tape from the perspective of labor on
the FTAA. Narrated by Mike Farrell, it covers the NAFTA
Chapter 11 cases on UPS, and Methanex' attack on California's
environmental laws banning MTBE from gasoline, and how
the FTAA will affect us. There is also a set of fact sheets
and great interactive role play on the impacts on the
public and private sectors of the FTAA.  

The materials come from the UC Berkeley Center for Labor
Research and Education. You can reach Producer Jeremy
Blasi at (510) 642-1583, email: blasi at uclink.berkeley.edu,
or visit http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/QdqNNmd1c7z7/. The
packets, including the video and curriculum guide, cost
$15 each (shipping costs included); or $10 each for
orders of 10 or more and $7.50 each for orders of 50
or more (plus shipping - contact for cost). Make out a
check to "UC Regents" and send it to: Att: Jeremy Blasi,
UC Berkeley Labor Center, 2521 Channing Way, Berkeley,
CA 94720. 

Trading Democracy - Moyers videos 
The issues of transparency - and NAFTA Chapter 11 are
well explained in Bill Moyers' Reports: Trading Democracy.
The impact is carried further when you remember that the
same "lack of transparency" (as in secret courts make
the decisions) are included in the Chile and FTAA agreements.

Order a copy of the video - $7 each and watch it - share
the stories of Metalclad - where $16 million was paid
by Mexico after losing a case; and the pending MTBE case
in California where the claim is for $970 million against
the US. This may be ordered at: 
http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/R7qNNmd1c7zU/.  

Talking Trade Order 
Free copies of our publication: "CWA Talking Trade, Taking
a Stand for Justice" may be ordered on our website by
clicking on the following: http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/RpqNNmd1c7zy/
. 
______________________________________________________________________
For more information - check out our website. Or contact:
Carrie Biggs-Adams 
International Affairs Representative 
Communications Workers of America 
cbiggs-adams at cwa-union.org 
(202) 434-1147 

For legislative information contact:  
T. Santora 
CWA Legislative Representative 
tsantora at cwa-union.org 
(202) 434-1315 

 
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http://www.unionvoice.org/join-forward.html?domain=cwa_action&r=JpqNNmd1sd1v



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