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WASHINGTON - The President today emphasized the importance to U.S. security of the United States' longstanding friendship with the countries of Central America and the Dominican Republic.
I agree with him. I continue to support strongly the right free trade agreement with Central America and the Dominican Republic. I have been working to expand trading ties with our friends and neighbors in the region since President Reagan proposed the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) in 1983. In 2000, I helped to lead the largest expansion of the CBI program in its history.
The right CAFTA would be supported by wide margins of Democrats and Republicans. Most Democrats I know want to vote for the right CAFTA agreement - just as nearly 80 percent of all Democrats today voted against withdrawing from the WTO. Sadly, the Bush Administration ignored virtually all Democrats when it negotiated this CAFTA. Not surprisingly, virtually no Democrats support this CAFTA.
The right CAFTA would also be a strong bulwark for regional security. Terrorism and instability breed when people are poor and feel they have no hope.
My problem with the current CAFTA is that it seems to give hope to corporations but does not require even the most basic standards of fairness and decency for working people.
In fact, in each of the countries in the region, the CAFTA as negotiated is creating unrest and potential instability, not strengthening democracies. For example, a recent Gallup poll in Guatemala showed 65% opposed to CAFTA. In several of the countries, riot police have been called out to intervene in peaceful demonstrations, leaving two persons dead and dozens injured, some seriously. It seems to me that reactions like this create the underpinnings of insecurity, not security and democratic governments.
I hope that the Bush Administration responds to Congressional advice and makes the small but significant changes to the agreement that will allow Democrats and Republicans once again to join together in broad bipartisan support.
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