[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 106 (Friday, July 29, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1700-E1701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC-CENTRAL AMERICA-UNITED STATES FREE TRADE AGREEMENT 
                           IMPLEMENTATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. AL GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 27, 2005

  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Congress debated and 
passed H.R. 3045, the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade 
Agreement (DR-CAFTA). I voted in opposition to the trade agreement 
because of my concerns regarding the full ramifications of its passage 
and because I am a proponent of trade policies that enhance the welfare 
of participating countries. Any free trade agreement entered into by 
the United States should be fair. CAFTA, however, is neither free nor 
fair. CAFTA will cost American jobs, is unfair to American workers and 
exploits cheap foreign labor.
  As we consider future trade agreements, I believe it is particularly 
relevant that we learn the lessons from NAFTA. We have learned that the 
promises of U.S. economic prosperity, curbed undocumented immigration, 
robust markets and massive job creation went unfulfilled. I fear that 
NAFTA is a precursor for what can be expected under CAFTA.
  NAFTA promised millions of new jobs and a trade surplus for the 
United States that was never realized. Instead the U.S. has lost over 
one million lobs to Mexico and Canada. More specifically, the rise in 
the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and Mexico through 2004 has caused 
the displacement of production that supported over one million U.S. 
jobs since NAFTA was signed in 1993. Jobs have been displaced in most 
states and many industries in the United States. In my home state of 
Texas alone, more than 170,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost. The 
loss of these jobs has contributed significantly to the expanding 
burdens of unemployed workers in our state.
  Why do these trade agreements cost us American jobs? Free trade 
agreements can create an environment that encourages corporations to 
relocate and take American jobs with them. By making it easier for the 
Central American countries to export certain products and because they 
have cheaper labor and weaker labor rights protections, CAFTA would 
encourage U.S. businesses to relocate. Though supporters tout Central 
America as a market for U.S. goods, it is not. CAFTA amounts to nothing 
more than an outsourcing agreement.

  Adding insult to injury, Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) programs 
designed to help those who lose their jobs due to trade agreements 
remain underfunded and ineffective. Congress has not provided adequate 
funding for this program to meet the needs of thousands upon thousands 
of workers who have been displaced by trade. You cannot have trade 
agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA that

[[Page E1701]]

displace American workers and yet do not provide them with any 
assistance when they need it.
  Not only is CAFTA wrong for the U.S. economy and American workers, 
its exploitation of cheap foreign labor is morally deficient. CAFTA 
disbands internationally accepted labor standards and provides no 
repercussions or penalties for those that violate workers rights. In 
fact, CAFTA does not require nations to bring their laws into 
compliance with International Labor Organization (ILO) core labor 
standards, even though the ILO and U.S. State Department have 
documented numerous areas where the CAFTA countries' laws fail to 
comply with even the most basic international norms. This trade 
agreement merely encourages nations to enforce their own labor laws, no 
matter how weak those laws may be.
  I strongly believe that workers' rights are human rights. They are 
critical to improving living standards and quality of life both here 
and abroad. Unfortunately, CAFTA will demand an honest days work 
without guaranteeing an honest days pay. If we were serious about 
helping workers in CAFTA countries, we would have gone back to the 
drawing board, negotiated a better deal for American workers and 
improved CAFTA nations' labor standards.

                          ____________________