Losing Sovereignty with CAFTA - Costa Ricans vote this weekend (US alread approved)

World Net Daily/michaelhowe.net ^ | October 4, 2007 | Michael Howe

[mhowe]

The Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement has been approved by all involved countries, including the United States, with the exception of Costa Rica, where opponents say they fear an influx of cheap imports and an affront to the nation's sovereignty.

[mhowe]

Are you kidding me? Costa Ricans fear loss of their sovereignty and get to vote; yet there are similar concerns in the US about CAFTA, NAFTA, and the like - the difference, here these things slide through Congress relatively unnoticed.

[jmyrlefuller]

I remember when that passed. By a sliver of a vote in Congress— as I recall, my congressman passed the deciding vote in favor.

He actually had a good argument, too: in Central America, we have a better market for exporting lower-tech industrial goods like film cameras, which are still made largely in the USA. So in fact CAFTA actually opens up a market for American goods.

[1rudeboy]

Don’t worry, the Ticos have been promised by the Dems that they can keep their tariffs and still enjoy duty-free access to the US market.