Help Stop the U.S.A.F.T.A.!

United States Trade Representative ^ | 04/15/2004 | Mike Renzulli

[MARenzulli]

Help Stop the United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement!

Not only is Congress going to consider a trade agreement for Central America in the late spring or early summer but at the same time it is going to debate and vote on a trade agreement between the United States and Australia. While the treaty has many desirable features to it, such as granting all U.S. agricultural exports to Australia (such as fruits and vegetables, dried onions, fruit and vegetable juices) immediate duty-free access, it still exempts many dairy industry products by keeping much of the U.S. quotas on dairy imports intact while phasing out U.S. above quota beef duties on beef products to the United States over 18 years.

After a brief review of the treaty, aside from giving the World Trade Organization the authority to arbitrate trade disputes among the U.S. and Australia, I have not been able to find another organization established to oversee this treaty's implementation. The problem with negotiated, bilateral trade agreements (like USAFTA, CAFTA and NAFTA) is that they mainly rely on the same fundemental premise that underlies protectionism. In practice, negotiated trade agreements record on opening markets and keeping them open have been mixed. There is a better way: dropping our trade barriers and tariffs with all countries unilaterally regardless of what they do.

Simple, unilateral free trade will give everyone (especially Americans) the widest possible choices of products and services at the lowest available prices. America doesn't need to belong to trade alliances, global organizations or negotiate trade agreements with other governments to have free trade. It needs only to reduce our own trade barriers and tariffs.

Please call, write or e-mail your representatives in Congress as soon as possible expressing your opposition to the U.S. ratifying the USAFTA. A pre-printed letter for you to use along with links to the U.S. House and Senate pages for you to contact your state's members of Congress is provided below.

Regards, Mike Renzulli

Write Your Representative

U.S. Senate

----------------------Sample Letter----------------------------

Dear Representative (or Senator) ____________,

I am writing to express my opposition to the United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement (a.k.a. USAFTA) that will soon be debated and voted on by Congress. While there is no question that free trade and market liberalization benefit all countries involved in the free flow of goods and services, treaties like USAFTA are not free trade arrangements.

While the agreement has many desirable features to it, such as granting all U.S. agricultural exports to Australia (such as fruits and vegetables, dried onions, fruit and vegetable juices) immediate duty-free access to Australian markets, it still exempts U.S. dairy industry products by keeping much of the U.S. quotas on dairy imports intact while phasing out U.S. above quota beef duties to the United States over 18 years.

At the same time the World Trade Organization will (yet again) have the ability to arbitrate disputes between the U.S. and Australia which can mean they can dictate to us and Australia what trade policies our two respective countries can have.

America does not need to belong to trade alliances, global organizations or negotiate trade agreements with other governments to have free trade. It needs only to reduce our own trade barriers and tariffs unilaterally.

Please oppose the USAFTA when it comes up for a vote.

Regards, Name Address Phone Number

[gcruse]

No. Lowering trade barriers is a plus.

[MNJohnnie]

Right, American consumers should be handcuffed to uncompetative American Business and out of control labor unions by MORE Goverment intervention in the Economy. Goverment should rush to enslave the American People to businesses that are too stupid, or too lazy, to compete in the global market.

Man, YOu want to post this over at Demagogues Unleased not Free Republic

[JerseyHighlander]

Would you rather the Aussie economy fall under China's sphere in decades to come? What you got against our Aussie cousins? A free trader blind to all other considerations, praying at the mantle of Ricardo?

Out of curiousity, do you have a Masters or PhD in Finance and or Economics?

[hedgetrimmer]

You appear to be unaware of the elements of the treaty that are non trade related.

They have to do with unlimited immigration from South America into the US, social security for illegals even if they have only worked in this country for a short while and reduced rates for sending the $32 billion in remittances out of the country. Oh and did I mention the federal acceptance of the matricular phony consular ID. And I forget, did I mention drivers licenses for illegals?

Oh, and infrastructure develepment funds for South America courtesy of the over taxed American taxpayer who can't even keep their own roads, water and electrical generation plants functioning? oh and don't forget the massive giveaway of US tax dollars through the Millenium Challenge fund. All part and parcel of a so-called fake "free trade" agreement.

I don't think you approve of the wholesale loss of American sovereignty do you?

[maui_hawaii]

Actual free trade agreements of this nature with partners of the same nature as Australia are very good. You should be writing about why they should support it.

[JerseyHighlander]

I posted in haste, you seem to have a solid LP background, so would you care to elaborate on the dairy subsidies and/or the USAFTA, will the blocking of USAFTA do anything to the dairy subsidies? I'm seeing my usual problem when focusing on these positions, the all or nothing attitude of those unwilling to work incrementally to reducing trade subsidies. If you believe the WTO will strike down US dairy subsidies, then the WTO is just used as a tool toward your desired absolute free trade. Why deny non-dairy agriculture businesses in the US access to the AU market?

[JerseyHighlander]

You probably know more specifics on this than anyone I know personally, New Jersey isn't a hotbed of agribusiness politics. Any comments you'd like to add to this topic of USAFTA? CAFTA?

[hedgetrimmer]

USAFTA would link Australia to North American market created by the free trade area (NAFTA) which combines the US, Canada and Mexico. So when the FTAA is passed, the trade region will be massive.

The USAFTA would implement yet another UN treaty, the International Plant Protection Convention, fortifying the UNs power over the United States--Chapter 7 of the draft treaty.

The Parties reaffirm their obligations as members of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and their commitments under the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up (1998). Each Party shall strive to ensure that such labour principles and the internationally recognized labour principles and rights set forth in Article 18.7 are recognized and protected by domestic law.--Chapter 18

In other words, the US must recognize international law over domestic law with flies in the face of our sovereignty. It is a trojan horse designed to change US law to conform to that of another UN organization, the ILO.

The treaty is also to help enforce the idea that regional governments and nongovernmental organizations should have the force of government-- completely unconsititutional.

For the purposes of this Chapter (10), “measures adopted or maintained by a Party” means measures taken by:
(a) central, regional, or local governments and authorities; and
(b) non-governmental bodies in the exercise of powers delegated by central,
regional, or local governments or authorities.

Quickly looking through the text shows that the treaty subverts local control in our government to international law and the UN. Treaties like this kill sovereignty in a very underhanded way.

http://www.ustr.gov/new/fta/Australia/text/index.htm