Thread: Farmer and Ranchers Urge Congress to Vote NO on CAFTA

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Tuesday, July 19, 2005 Good Evening!

Farmer and Ranchers Urge Congress to Vote NO on CAFTA (07/19/05 10:10)


OMAHA (DTN) -- Agriculture leaders from across the nation are in Washington, D.C., urging their members of Congress to vote against the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

Farmers Union state presidents are meeting with their House congressional delegations on Capitol Hill this week to ask them to oppose CAFTA, which will likely come to a final vote on the House floor by the end of the month. The outcome of the agreement may depend on just a few votes.

"We are here to remind Congress that this agreement resembles failed trade agreements of the past that encourage a race to the bottom for producer prices," said National Farmers Union President Dave Frederickson. NFU says that while the benefits of CAFTA are minimal, the potential consequences are tremendous as they perpetuate unsuccessful trade policy.

"CAFTA fails to address major issues that distort fair trade such as labor, environmental and currency issues," said Frederickson.

NFU maintains that this agreement trades away American producers’ ability to compete fairly in a global economy, by forcing them to compete with producers from countries which have a cost-of-production advantage over the United States because they are not required to meet the same labor and environmental standards.

"This agreement is the wrong move at the wrong time for the wrong reasons," Frederickson said. "NFU's family farmers and ranchers feel it is a mistake to outsource the production of America's food, and we are working to make sure the full Congress does not approve CAFTA. It should be renegotiated to account for all factors of trade."

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It should be renegotiated to account for all factors of trade."

No. It should be defeated, then all copies burned, and never spoken of again....just remembered as a Dark Period of America...when we almost all became Drones with Serial Numbers.