Free Republic

THE YEAR 2008 may enter history as the time when the Democratic Party lost its way on trade. Already, the party's presidential candidates have engaged in an unseemly contest to adopt the most protectionist posture, suggesting that, if elected, they might pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared her intention to change the procedural rules governing the proposed trade promotion agreement with Colombia. President Bush submitted the pact to Congress on Tuesday for a vote within the next 90 legislative days, as required by the "fast-track" authority under which the U.S. negotiated...

HOUSTON -- It did not take long Tuesday for the Texas Department of Transportation to find out what the Houstonians at a public hearing thought about the proposed 600-mile Trans-Texas Corridor, KPRC Local 2 reported. "George Washington, Sam Houston would vomit on you people," one attendee said. Chris Zora, who opposes the plan, attended the hearing at the Arabia Shrine Center in Southwest Houston. "I'd like to see a show of hands here of anybody that approves of this corridor," Zora said. "Is there anyone in this room who approves of this corridor? Raise your hands if you approve of...

Daniel Griswold directs the Cato Institute's Center for Trade Policy Studies and authored the new study, "Trading Up: How Expanding Trade Has Delivered Better Jobs and Higher Living Standards for American Workers," available at freetrade.org. President Bush urged Congress yesterday to pass four pending trade agreements, telling a White House audience that open markets boost economic growth, raise standards of living by creating higher-paying jobs and deliver more choice and better prices for consumers. Despite claims to the contrary by populist opponents of trade expansion, the president has the facts and decades of experience on his side. Critics of trade...

Summary: At a Democratic debate in Philadelphia, Sen. Hillary Clinton ducked some questions and gave misleading answers to others. She falsely implied that the reason White House documents about her communications with her husband haven't been released is due to bureaucratic delays, and she avoided saying whether she would ask Bill Clinton to clear their release from the National Archives. She avoided a yes-or-no answer to whether she supports giving New York driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and at one point denied saying the idea made sense, when in fact she said less than two weeks earlier that it "makes...

With Audio...Take a Listen.... With G. Gordon Liddy, Mike discussed the ramifications of NAFTA, and the increasing loss of American sovereignty due to that agreement as well as other agreements such as CAFTA. The NAFTA ordered Mexican truck demonstration program, according to Mike, is ill conceived and does not consider the broader implications of safety, security, and sovereignty. He also discussed an earlier article he had written about NAFTA Superhighways and the call to move toward a North American Union. Several listeners called in to discuss NAFTA and the key issues as well.......

By a razor-thin margin last week, Costa Ricans approved their country's entry into the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which they've been told will bring all kinds of benefits to their economy. But nearly half of voters in that U.S.-friendly country viewed CAFTA as a bad idea. We've long supported free trade and hope that, with Costa Rica's approval, the pact will make commerce easier among the United States, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. But the growing skepticism about free trade across the Americas, including in the U.S., suggests the results have fallen short of expectations....

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you for the warm welcome. It's great to be in Miami. I've been looking for my little brother. (Laughter.) He must have finally found work. (Laughter.) Just kidding, Jeb. I thank the Center for Hemispheric Policy and the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce for sponsoring this event. And I appreciate you all coming. I appreciate the support that you give for enterprise here in South Florida. President George W. Bush stands on stage at the Radisson Miami Hotel Friday, Oct. 12, 2007, in Miami, where he delivered remarks on trade policy. Speaking on free trade in the...

Bush: Protectionism will cost U.S. jobs By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 10 minutes ago WASHINGTON - Alarmed by slipping support for free trade even among Republicans, President Bush is arguing that protectionism will cut Americans out of chances for more — and better — jobs. Bush has launched a blitz on behalf of pending free trade pacts with four nations. He continued the push Saturday in his weekly radio address. "More exports support better and higher-paying jobs," the president said. "And to keep our economy expanding, we need to keep expanding trade." His radio address followed a...

Trying to jump-start his stalled trade agenda, President Bush pleaded with lawmakers on Friday to pass free trade pacts with four nations, and warned against protectionism taking root in America. In Miami, a city known as the "gateway to the Americas," Bush urged Congress to approve free trade agreements with Peru, Panama and Colombia in Latin America plus another with South Korea. The deals face uphill battles given five consecutive years of record U.S. trade deficits that critics say played a major role in the loss of more than 3 million manufacturing jobs since Bush took office in 2001. Bush...

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Costa Ricans prepared on Monday to join a controversial free trade agreement with Central American neighbors, the Dominican Republic and the U.S. after a thin majority apparently backed the pact in a national referendum. But even Sunday's vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement did not end a yearlong battle over the agreement. Opponents said they will wait for a mandatory recount, set to begin Tuesday, before recognizing the referendum's results. The ballot-by-ballot recount is required by Costa Rican law, and can last no longer than two weeks. With 97 percent of precincts...

The President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, has said the country has given its backing to a free trade agreement with the United States. With most of the votes counted, Mr Arias said the treaty had been narrowly approved in a referendum. The treaty gives Costa Rica greater access to the US market. Opponents of the deal fear increased competition could ruin the country's successful economy and put the welfare system at risk. "The people of Costa Rica have said yes to the free trade agreement, and that for me is a sacred wish," Mr Arias said in a televised...

SAN JOSE: Costa Rica's president Oscar Arias declared victory Sunday in his drive to join a free trade deal with the United States, announcing on television that voters had backed it in a referendum. "The people of Costa Rica have said yes to the free trade agreement, and that for me is a sacred wish," Arias said in a televised address to the nation after Costa Ricans voted in their tens of thousands on the measure. Earlier partial results showed that with 73 per cent of votes counted, just over 50 per cent of voters said yes to the agreement...

Democracy in Central America's most stable country is rocking on its foundations. On Sunday, Costa Rica will vote on a free trade agreement with the United States. The country is so divided that everyone is worried about the future, whatever the result of the referendum. Demonstrations in every corner of Costa Rica have dominated the national debate for months. With flags bearing a heart in the colours of the national flag, protestors formed the word "No". No to CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which gives Central American countries a special status in economic relations with the US. Thousands...

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.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Democrats sought to reassure Costa Rican voters on Friday their country would not lose U.S. trade benefits if they rejected a free-trade agreement with Washington, following a Bush administration warning they could be at risk. "Congress is constitutionally responsible for regulating international commerce. As such, we reiterate our longstanding position that preference programs should not be conditioned on a country entering into a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States," two senior Democrats in the House of Representatives said. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel and Rep. Sander Levin, chairman of the Ways...

On Sunday, October 7, voters in Costa Rica will decide whether to join the United States-Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). CAFTA would bring tremendous benefits to Costa Rica, as it has already to Costa Rica's Central American neighbors. This bright future is being jeopardized, however, by an alliance of protectionist anti-free traders in the U.S. Congress and Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. In order to make an informed choice about joining CAFTA, voters in Costa Rica need to learn the truth behind the rhetoric.Misinformation CampaignThe massive campaign against CAFTA is captured in the lead sentence of a New...

In response to Mary Anastasia O'Grady's Oct. 1 Americas column "Democrats vs. Central America":While I strongly disagree with The Wall Street Journal editorial page's right-wing ideology, I'll give you points for persistence. Year after year, despite all of the evidence, you continue to be a cheerleader for the unfettered free-trade policies that, while benefiting multinational corporations, have caused so much economic pain for working families here in the U.S. and our trading partners abroad.Ms. O'Grady is telling the people of Costa Rica how wonderful passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement will be for them. The Journal said the...

America's only socialist senator traveled to Costa Rica last week, but it wasn't to work on strengthening ties between our two nations. Vermont's Bernie Sanders went to San José with Rep. Mike Michaud (D., Maine) to aid the local opposition to the U.S-Central American Free Trade Agreement, which has not yet been ratified by that country. The congressional visit was strategically timed. As one of seven signatories to Cafta, and the only one that hasn't made it official, Costa Rica has only until Feb. 29 to adopt ...the pact. But first it must be ratified... The Costa Rican Congress has...

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Costa Ricans, some dressed as skeletons and holding banners, protested on Sunday against a U.S. trade pact they say will flood the country with cheap farm goods and cause big job losses. Chanting "No to the free-trade pact!" and "Costa Rica is not for sale!" protesters ranging from farmers to housewives filled one of San Jose's main boulevards to demonstrate against the Central American Free Trade Agreement with the United States. Costa Rica is the only country that has not ratified CAFTA -- which includes Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua...

Addressing the Republican Leadership Conference at the Mackinac Island Grand Hotel, United States Congressman Duncan Hunter has made trade a major issue in his candidacy for President. Hunter contends that China is illegally devaluing their currency by 40 per cent. This devaluation, according to Hunter, undercuts American production in markets around the world. According to Hunter's figures, America has lost approximately 1.8 million jobs nationwide, the Michigan state losses exceed 54,000 jobs. Hunter appears to be the only Republican candidate who is not a "free trader." He has called the loss of American manufacturing jobs a national security concern. "Our...

A $2 million grant approved by the United States will go towards supporting a comprehensive program of labor rights projects in six partner countries that are party to the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-Dominican Republic) signed with the United States. To be implemented by the Organization of American States (OAS)-affiliated non-profit Trust for the Americas, jointly with the OAS Department of Social Development and Employment (DSDE), the 24-month initiative involves Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The grant agreement is part of a larger United States government commitment of some $40 million per year for...

Illinois Congressman Jerry Weller is investing a lot of money in land development in Nicaragua. And the Chicago Tribune reports that he didn't reveal just how much land he bought when he made his required congressional disclosures. The paper also says the purchase price listed on American records is dramatically different from the price listed on Nicaraguan records. The Republican congressman started buying land in 2002. Then he started looking for land he could subdivide to attract buyers looking for oceanview property. Weller's investment got a boost and American investors got some legal protections when Congress passed the Central American...

In the down-is-up world of American biofuels, success carries enormous costs. The latest evidence of these costs is an amendment tucked into the House version of the 2007 Farm Bill: As Mexican granular sugar flows into the U.S. in 2008, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will oversee a supply-balancing program where the extra sugar can be purchased, at government-subsidized prices, by American ethanol makers. Sweet, eh? Moreover, if you think American corn growers are angered by seeing part of their fast-growing ethanol market legislatively handed to imported sugar, think again. Ethanol, after all, is the rabbit hole that swallowed logic...

China appears to be using its economic might as a means to strip Taiwan of its Latin American allies. China’s economic engagement with Latin America responds to the requirements of a booming Chinese economy that has been growing at nearly 10 percent per year for the past quarter century. The economic figures are impressive: in the past six years, Chinese imports from Latin America have grown more than six-fold, at a pace of some 60 percent a year, to an estimated $60 billion in 2006. China has become a major consumer of food, mineral, and other primary products from Latin...

One issue that's going to come up this fall that you haven't heard much about is trade. Or at least I hope it's going to come up. The Bush administration has submitted four free-trade agreements for approval by Congress — with Peru, Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. At the moment, their chances don't look very good. Democrats have taken to opposing FTAs almost unanimously. In July 2006, the House voted by only a 217-215 margin for the CAFTA, the FTA with four Central American countries, and the Dominican Republic. House Democrats voted 188-15 against, House Republicans 202-27 for. In the...

One issue that’s going to come up this fall that you haven’t heard much about is trade. Or at least I hope it’s going to come up. The Bush administration has submitted four free-trade agreements for approval by Congress — with Peru, Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. At the moment, their chances don’t look very good. Democrats have taken to opposing FTAs almost unanimously. In July 2006, the House voted by only a 217-215 margin for the CAFTA, the FTA with four Central American countries and the Dominican Republic. House Democrats voted 188-15 against, House Republicans 202-27 for. In the...

North American Union to Get Firmed Up in Secrecy at Meeting in Canada "Information is the currency of democracy." Thomas Jefferson American citizens have learned of some secretive groups in the country which are given great autonomy. Some are authorized by our government, but have little oversight, and some have not been authorized by our government, but seize authority just because they can. One example of this is the secretive CFIUS, Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States. When the plans to turn over operation of six ports to Dubai Ports World became public, (with no thanks to the...

It’s 9 a.m. and workers are rolling up the giant doors at Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles. Grocers are ready for business, their stalls colorfully stocked with vegetables and fruit – green beans, squash, tomatoes, lettuces, asparagus, oranges, apples, avocados, nectarines. This open air market, and scores of groceries and supermarkets throughout Los Angeles, once offered nothing but the bounty of California, the largest agricultural state in the nation. Long the salad bowl for the nation, we became the envy of easterners who face limited selections of vegetables and fruits during winter months. It’s still true that every...

Local Truckers protest doesn’t strain Beltway as feared Natalie McGill, The Examiner Apr 24, 2007 3:00 AM (5 days ago) Current rank: # 1,923 of 5,158 WASHINGTON - The first day of a three-day truckers protest planned for interstates nationwide had little to no impact on Capital Beltway traffic Monday morning and afternoon. SaveAmericaFund.org, based out of California, asked truckers across America to rally together and create slow-rolling road blocks in protest of a change in U.S. Department of Transportation policy making it easier for Mexican-owned trucks to traverse the nation. But Maryland State Police spokesman Arthur Betts said nothing...

U.S. trade policy and the impact of globalization on America are regularly the subjects of contentious debate both on Capitol Hill and in the media, and 2007 promises more of the same. The free trade argu­ment is played out between those that fear the per­ceived negative effects of freer trade on their own narrow interests and those that embrace the eco­nomic and strategic benefits that open market poli­cies will bring to the economy as a whole. Consequently, in today's policy world, free trade leg­islation passes on the margin, where every vote is crit­ical. The loss of even a few proponents...

Most thoughtful observers of the contemporary American polity are astonished that the highly partisan fight over the future of Iraq has almost entirely obscured the larger problem of which the Iraqi theater is but one front: the truly global conflict against Islamofascist ideologues and their enablers that is best described as the War for the Free World. If the ominous nature of this wider struggle to the death -- and the potentially grave implications for our society should we fail to wage it successfully -- are being lost on too many Americans, practically none of them is paying attention to...

Introduces resolutions aimed at stopping SPP from integrating continentRep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., is preparing to introduce a series of House resolutions aimed at stopping the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America from integrating the continent into a trilateral U.S.-Mexico-Canada structure of administrative law. Goode also intends to block the previously undisclosed, but already signed, Social Security agreement to "totalize" U.S. Social Security benefits with legal and illegal Mexicans working in the U.S. "I hope our effort will be successful in stopping the implementation of the Security and Prosperity Partnership," Goode told WND. "If we are not successful in stopping...

The Milam County portion of the “Hands Across the Corridor” Statewide Rallies was held Saturday, Sept. 30, on the Milam County Courthouse lawn. We had a great assembly of concerned Texans, Democrats, Republicans, Strayhorn Independents and even a couple of really “Kinky” folks. Everyone in attendance agreed that our current Governor and many of our senators and representatives have forgotten the constituents that they are supposed to represent. They seem to be representing only ‘big money contributors and companies' whose interests are not what is best for Texas, but how much money the ‘projects' (toll roads and corridor) can make...

Another NAFTA Super-Highway is moving state-by-state from the planning stage to the funding and construction process. As listed on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration’s website, the “I-69 Corridor” is planned to connect Mexico and Canada through Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan. Still, skeptics -- even congressmen and senators in the nine states where the I-69 corridor will be built -- continue to charge that any idea that NAFTA Super-Highways are being built are nothing more than “internet conspiracy theories.” Even NASCO (North America’s SuperCorridor Coalition, Inc.) continues to be in denial, refusing...

PONTIAC, Mich. -- Mike Bouchard was eager to make the sale as he bantered with Tracey Allen at a Labor Day street fair. Pitching his Republican candidacy for the U.S. Senate, the Oakland County sheriff heard her say she favored Democratic incumbent Debbie Stabenow. SNIP In Michigan, the November election is likely to come down to whom the voters blame for one of the nation's most troubled economies. With unemployment higher than the national average and many residents frustrated with Democratic Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm, Republicans see a chance for a swing-state victory. SNIP The GOP draws hope from polls...

The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, and the Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Industry, together with their counterparts from the United States and Mexico, today released the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) Report to the three North American leaders. The report outlines progress of collaborative initiatives between Canada, the United States and Mexico in such vital areas as security, the economy, transportation, the environment, and public health. "This report to Prime Minister Harper, President Bush, and President Fox marks the significant progress...

Panama is planning to build a deeper, wider Panama Canal to allow Communist Chinese super-containerships carrying cheap 21st century slave-labor under-market goods to have direct access to the Gulf of Mexico and key NAFTA/CAFTA ports such as Miami. In the shipping industry, Panamex container ships are defined as those that are able to fit through the 1,000-foot long and 110-foot wide canal. Typically, Panamex containerships were designed to carry 4,500 TEU (“Twenty Foot Units,” the length measurement of the standard ocean steel container). The first generation of post-Panamex container ships was built to carry up to 9,800 TEU. Today, a...

Canadian, U.S., and Mexican elites, including CEOS and politicians, have a plan to create common North American policies and further integrate our economies. This plan goes by various names and euphemisms, such as "deep integration", "NAFTA-plus", "harmonization", the "Big Idea", the "Grand Bargain", and the "North American Security and Prosperity Initiative". Regardless of which name your prefer, the end goal of all of these plans is to create a new political and economic entity named the North American Union (NAU) that would supercede the existing countries. Theoretically, it would be similar to and competetive with the European Union (EU). The...

The Bush administration's winning streak in getting Congress to go along with trade agreements may be in trouble, particularly if Democrats make the gains predicted for them in November's election. It took anguished debate and an uncomfortably close vote in July for Congress to pass a trade agreement with Oman, an Arabian Sea nation of 3 million people. For President Bush's team, which views free trade as a means to promote prosperity and democracy around the world, it was not a good sign. Critics of the administration's trade agenda saw the 221-205 House vote in late July to approve the...

Globalists and one-world promoters never seem to tire of coming up with ways to undermine the sovereignty of the United States. The most recent attempt comes in the form of the misnamed "Security and Prosperity Partnership Of North America (SPP)." In reality, this new "partnership" will likely make us far less secure and certainly less prosperous. According to the US government website dedicated to the project, the SPP is neither a treaty nor a formal agreement. Rather, it is a "dialogue" launched by the heads of state of Canada, Mexico, and the United States at a summit in Waco, Texas...

A $491 million public-financing deal promoted by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush as a boon to commuters actually paves the way for shipping more cheap goods from China to the North American marketplace, charges a whistleblower. Ex-CSX Transportation employee Dave Nelson told WND the deal in Florida amounts to providing CSXT with a public subsidy. Money from the public purse will position the railroad company as a major freight carrier throughout Florida, transporting cargo containers filled with cheap goods coming into the NAFTA marketplace from China. CSXT is positioned to receive millions in the deal. Under the terms of the agreement,...

The NAFTA marketplace unrestrained in the pursuit of cheap labor has driven an increasing volume of manufacturing off-shore to Communist China, where slave prison camps offer a cost of labor that is hard to beat. Chinese made goods ranging from electronics to toys and clothes are daily sold in mass marketing retailers such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot, K-Mart, Target, Lowes, and dozens of other U.S. corporations. Cheap goods from Communist China increasingly line the shelves of the NAFTA marketplace under marquee product trade names that bear no relationship to the Chinese slave labor that manufactured, produced, or otherwise assembled the...

The World Trade Organisation's Appellate Body, reversing an earlier panel report, on Tuesday ruled that the U.S. method for calculating anti-dumping duties on softwood lumber imports violated global free trade rules. A WTO dispute panel on April 3 rejected a challenge brought by Canada against a U.S. method known as "zeroing" for calculating anti-dumping duties on billions of dollars worth of softwood lumber imports. But in a 60-page ruling issued on Tuesday, the three judges on the WTO's Appellate Body -- its highest arbitration court -- found that the use of zeroing was inconsistent with the WTO's Anti-Dumping Agreement. "The...

I. Double Taxation Without Accountability Regional mobility authorites (RMAs) are not directly accountable to the people of Texas. No voter approval is required for their creation; no voter approval is required for the selection of their board members or staff; no voter approval is required for the selection and funding of their toll projects; nor is voter approval required for “conversion,” as it is called in transportation planner’s language.[6] Comptroller Strayhorn has repeatedly said, “the redesignation as toll roads of roads already constructed, under construction or funded through traditional means, such as the gasoline tax, is double taxation.” Travis and...

After missing a deadline, the U.S. Department of Commerce finally has granted a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain complete disclosure of a congressionally unauthorized plan to implement a trilateral agreement with Mexico and Canada that critics say could lead to a EU-style alliance in North America. The plan is being implemented through an office within the Department of Commerce called the "Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America," under the direction of Geri Word, who is listed as working in the agency's North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, office.As WorldNetDaily previously reported, the White House has established...

Robert Pastor intends to give away U.S. sovereignty to a newly forming North American Union exactly as he gave away the Panama Canal to Panama during Jimmy Carter’s presidency.As we are taught in grade school, George Washington is the Father of our nation. If the North American Union comes into existence as the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) asserts, then we all better get prepared for a new hero. Robert Pastor is the person most likely to be proclaimed the father of the North American Union, a designation consistent with his decades-long history of viewing U.S. national interests through the...

John Hawkins apparently has taken on a mission to prove that the Bush Administration is not creating a North American Union to replace the United States, or a new currency -- the Amero -- to replace the U.S. dollar. Recently, in a blog debate on this website, I exchanged views with Mr. Hawkins. When Mr. Hawkins declined to respond in what the editors termed “Round 4” of that debate, I concluded Mr. Hawkins allowed me to have the final word because he lacked a convincing rejoinder. Now, we see Mr. Hawkins wants to carry on the debate but this time...

UPDATE, July 19, 2006. The House is expected to vote on the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement (FTA) very soon.   The Senate has already approved this trade pact by 60-34 in June. This could be another CAFTA-type cliff hanger in the House, so please contact your representative immediately via phone, fax, or email, in strong opposition to the U.S.-Oman FTA. Phone is preferable due to the shortness of time and the bigger impact. Help Preserve Jobs and National Security & Independence: Defeat the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement What's it all mean?We have a golden opportunity to derail the NAFTA/CAFTA series of...

G-8 agrees to subsidy cuts for WTO's success The world's top eight industrial nations on Monday appeared to have climbed down from a tough position on farm subsidies, reviving hopes of resumption of the collasped WTO talks. "The Doha Round should deliver real cuts in tariffs, effective cuts in subsidies and real new trade flows," a statement issued at the G-8 Summit in St Petersburg said emphasising, it is "fully committed to the development dimension of ongoing WTO talks." Regretting that the talks in Geneva failed early this month, the heads of government of US, UK, France, Japan, Canada, Italy,...

GUATEMALA CITY - While the machines on the factory floor whirred rat-a-tat-tat, textile maker Sergio de la Torre sat in his office and extolled what CAFTA will bring in the future: attention and foreign investment. But up to now, the Central American Free Trade Agreement has hurt more than helped his business. ''The plant is half-empty because the treaty has not started for Guatemala,'' said de la Torre as he conducted a tour of his factory, Accesorios Textiles. Until today -- when Guatemala officially joins CAFTA -- he couldn't sell his labels in countries that had previously joined -- El...