Thread: CAFTA would be a boon to Louisiana´s economy

http://www.bayoubuzz.com/articles.aspx?aid=4474

CAFTA which passed the Senate is now in the House and one individual who has stepped onto the front yard of the issue is New Orleans World Trade Center managing director Eugene Screiber. Central American Free Trade Agreement -- a proposed deal between the United States and the Central American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, plus the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean.


At a recent event, the soft-spoken, normally politically quiet Eugene Schreiber stated the following regarding CAFTA,

As reported by the Lafayette and Baton Rouge dailies:

Schreiber said the trade deal would be a boon to Louisiana´s economy, especially agricultural interests other than sugar.

He said that the U.S. sugar trade would also not suffer too big a blow from CAFTA´s sugar provisions, which would initially allow an additional 109,000 tons of imported sugar into the U.S. free of import taxes.

That would rise to a total of 157,000 tons of sugar from the countries in the agreement within 10 years.

Schreiber said that with more than 10 million tons of domestic sugar produced, the tonnage in question isn´t that much, especially when weighed against the benefits for other agricultural commodities and industries.

Half of the goods the six countries import come from the United States, and the relaxing of trade restrictions in CAFTA would open the combined markets even further for U.S. rice, soybeans, cotton, chemicals, plastics, equipment and other goods, he said.



Schreiber said CAFTA is an especially good deal for the United States, because trade import restrictions from the countries in question are already low and the deal would even the playing field on restrictions to U.S. exports to the area.

Louisiana is geographically well positioned to take advantage of those markets and benefit from the increased trade in Louisiana-produced goods and out-of-state goods passing through Louisiana ports, he said.

He said 80 percent of Louisiana agriculture is non-sugar and most of it benefits from the CAFTA deal.

"These small countries are big markets," Schreiber said. "Louisiana exports to those six countries are slightly larger than exports to France, Germany and Great Britain combined."

Schreiber said that CAFTA´s predecessor, the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, had caused a doubling in exports to Canada and Mexico in the past 10 years, but that Louisiana has seen a 400 percent increase in exports to Mexico alone.

CAFTA would be more beneficial to the U.S. than the other countries, Schreiber said, and for "99 percent of agricultural products - but not sugar."

Presently, the country imports 300,000 metric tons of sugar from other countries, Schreiber said, and under CAFTA, that amount would grow by 109,000 metric tons during the first year the agreement is in effect, and then to 157,000 metric tons in 10 years.

Of course, there is another side of the issue which has been offered by both Senators Mary Landrieu, David Vitter and the Sugar Industry, in particular.



DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY STILL CLUELESS - Needs Focus

New Orleans World Trade Center managing director Eugene Screiber

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New Orleans WORLD Trade Center....

Hello, Globbie....decided to crawl out of your worm hole at the 11th hour? Well, crawl back in there....we don't need any of your DOUBLESPEAK ilk!!

Schreiber said CAFTA is an especially good deal for the United States, because trade import restrictions from the countries in question are already low and the deal would even the playing field on restrictions to U.S. exports to the area.

Question: IF trade import restrictions are already "low", then leave the countries alone. Their people aren't complaining about the way things are now. BUT they are protesting in the streets against CAFTA. LEAVE THE PEOPLE ALONE!! How does increasing our exports to these poor countries help them? How does increasing their imports to the USA help us? Another Globbie with his double-talk. When he says it is a good deal for the United States, what he really means is it is NOT a good deal for the United States.

"These small countries are big markets," Schreiber said. "Louisiana exports to those six countries are slightly larger than exports to France, Germany and Great Britain combined."

"small countries are big markets" HOW DOES THAT WORK EXACTLY especially when they don't have any money to buy anything with? Oh....is this another one of those "ironies and opposites"?

If that is true, which I doubt, then may I suggest that the New Orleands "WORLD" Trade Center hire a marketing person and increase its exports to countries like France, Germany and Great Britain who have some MONEY to pay with and won't be sending us MILLIONS of poor immigrants we can't afford to sustain!!

Add the cost of "free flow of people, labor and goods" to the price of sugar and WOWIE ZOWIE, how much will that imported sugar REALLY COST THE USA? Who knows, who can figure it, there is no slide rule long enough to measure the damage!!

DEFEAT CAFTA--IT"S A FRAUD FOR BOTH THE USA AND THE CENTRAL AMERICAN COUNTRIES. It's a GLOBBIE BILL. [/quote]

Judy you say it so well. We arent falling for their doublespeak.