Trade Campaigns

U.S.-Colombian Free Trade Agreement

The U.S. and Colombia signed a Free Trade Agreement in 2006. Because of the high level of violence against trade unionists in Colombia, this agreement is particularly controversial and was not brought to a vote in 2007 or 2008 despite a major push by the Bush Administration and business lobbyists.  The Obama Administration announced in February 2009 that it would set benchmarks for Colombia before moving the agreement for a vote.  Click the link above to learn more and take action on this important issue.

TransPacific Partnership (TPP) Free Trade Agreement

The Obama Administration has begun negotiations for a TransPacific Partnership (TPP) FTA involving the US, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Vietnam, Chile, Singapore and Peru.  It would be the first FTA negotiated by the Obama Administration and as such will demonstrate to what degree the Administration is prepared to honor the President’s campaign promises for a new deal on trade, or whether the Administration will settle for a variation of the flawed NAFTA and CAFTA models.   Anti-FTA advocates and members of Congress have rallied around the TRADE Act, the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment Act, which calls for a more balanced way to expand trade.  For more information about the TPP and the TRADE Act, see the Citizens Trade Campaign.

Worker Rights Petitions

Worker rights petitions allowed for under special U.S. trade programs have been the single most effective source of U.S. leverage for promoting worker rights in Latin America. However, passage of free trade agreements, e.g. CAFTA, replaces these special trade programs and eliminates the worker rights  petition process  and their stronger labor standards, greatly weakening the ability of USLEAP and others to try to apply U.S. trade leverage to support worker rights abroad.  Trade agreements like CAFTA and NAFTA provide for a much weaker labor complaint process.

USLEAP filed numerous petitions on Guatemala, no longer applicable under CAFTA, and on Ecuador, a petition that is still pending. Clink on the link above to learn more about worker rights petitions.  The AFL-CIO filed the first CAFTA labor complaint, on Guatemala, in 2008, with Guatemalan trade unions.   In July 2010, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union filed a second CAFTA labor complaint, on Costa Rica, with Costa Rican unions.

"Fast Track" Trade Authority

Under "Fast Track," Congress is not able to make amendments to trade agreements. The Administration negotiates the terms of the agreement and Congress can only approve or reject an agreement as negotiated. On June 30, 2007, Congress alllowed "fast track" to expire. Without "fast track," it is considered nearly impossible for an Administration to negotiate and pass new trade agreements. Eventual renewal of "fast track" will effectively set U.S. policy on key rules for the global economy in the next round of trade agreements. Clink on the link above to learn more about "fast track" and how it led to NAFTA, CAFTA, and agreements with Colombia, Peru, and Panama. The Obama Administration has said it will not ask for "fast track"authority before undertaking extensive consultations about future directions for U.S. trade policy.