Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 3045, to implement the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement. While I favor expanding trade and eliminating restrictive tariffs and barriers, the DR-CAFTA agreement does not create a fair playing field for United States companies and workers to compete. I urge my colleagues to join me in rejecting H.R. 3045 and tell the Administration to renegotiate a more responsible trade agreement. We can do better.

For the DR-CAFTA countries, the agreement would permanently expand preferential market access for most goods. For us, DR-CAFTA would phase out duties on manufactured and agricultural goods over 10 to 20 years. The countries included in this trade agreement, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, are of extreme strategic importance to us. We must not neglect our neighbors to the south, and improving economic ties to these countries should be a top priority. However, the DR-CAFTA agreement before us today is just as likely to hurt workers in these countries as it is to help them.

While a properly written agreement could mutually benefit companies and workers in all of the countries involved, this agreement avoids specific language to improve working conditions abroad. H.R. 3045 does not contain strong environmental or labor enforcement, which are the keys to fair trade. The agreement requires the DR-CAFTA countries to enforce their own laws, but it does not demand compliance with the International Labor Organization’s core labor standards. Central America has among the worst working conditions in the world. In Nicaragua, for instance, more than 40% of the population lives on less than $1 per day, so the agreement could have vastly improved their living conditions. Instead, DR-CAFTA will likely continue the status quo of cheap labor and weak worker protections.

Likewise, DR-CAFTA does not require countries to meet any minimum standards on the environment or public health. DR-CAFTA countries have no restrictions on air or water quality, which creates unhealthy living conditions and damages the environment. If a country does not meet its own environmental laws, it could be fined up to $15 million, a stark contrast to intellectual property violations, which have unlimited fines under the agreement. On a level playing field, American workers can compete and win, but it is unfair for our companies to compete against a DR-CAFTA country that employs minors earning pennies per hour without the same air and water quality guidelines under which American companies operate.

In 2004, Rhode Island exported approximately $30 million to these countries, or 2% of the state’s worldwide exports. This agreement is important to several companies in my district, but we must go back to the drawing board to ensure American companies and American jobs are not left behind. I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing H.R. 3045 and encouraging the Administration to renegotiate a more equitable agreement.