[Condor51]

****Speak for yourself. For some of us, supplements are what's keeping us alive.***

With all due respect, to all who are swallowing this propaganda I'd assume you would actually READ the treaty than rely on a special interest group press release.

CAFTA Facts; CAFTA and Dietary Supplements

• The CAFTA-DR will not limit consumer access to dietary supplements in any way, nor will it change the way the federal government or U.S. states regulate dietary supplements.
  
• Chapter Six of the CAFTA-DR (Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures – SPS), which some have claimed could limit access by American consumers to dietary supplements, does not create any substantive rights or obligations. It merely:
  • Says the seven governments do not intend the CAFTA-DR to change their existing SPS rights and obligations under the WTO. (Note: WTO rules, in effect since 1995, have had absolutely no impact on the regulation or availability of dietary supplements in the United States.)
    
  • Establishes an inter-governmental committee to discuss SPS issues of mutual interest. (The SPS committee will not seek to harmonize national SPS regulations governing dietary supplements. In fact, Chapter Six does not require, recommend, or even mention harmonization. The committee will simply work to assist the seven governments in carrying out their obligations under the WTO SPS Agreement.)
• Contrary to assertions some have made, the CAFTA-DR will not require the United States to:
  • apply the recently adopted Codex Alimentarius Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Supplements. In fact, the agreement imposes no obligations regarding Codex standards or guidelines.
  • change the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), which regulates dietary supplements in the United States.
• The Codex Guidelines provide voluntary guidance to governments relating to the composition of vitamin and mineral supplements and criteria for establishing maximum amounts of vitamins and minerals per daily portion of supplement consumed.
• The Guidelines do NOT establish upper limits for vitamins and minerals in supplements.
  
• Nothing in the WTO SPS Agreement will require the United States to adopt the Codex Guidelines.

So no offense but maybe you should read this.www.ustr.gov (WARNING it's in PDF)

CAFTA is being deionized by 'almost' every special interest group in the US as the next thing worse than a deal with the Devil himself. And about a week ago someone on a thread said CAFTA would effect our 2nd Amendment rights - which is utter nonsense.

I don't know what it is but CAFTA is turning normally sane people into moonbats.

[MizSterious]

Maybe you should read before posting, too. I was responding to post #2, which said, "Who cares about vitamins."

[1rudeboy]

Beat me by two minutes.

[KevinDavis]

You can't post facts here!! You have to follow the moonbat line.. If you don't you will be called a Bush Bot....

[depenzz]

If it doesn't do anything to restrict the business then, why do we need to participate in it. Its just getting another foot into the door for limiting our freedom.

Anyone that buys worthless items (supplements)have no one to blame but theirselves.

I use some and I do not want anyone messing with any of them in any way. A responsible person can research items and get a good idea what it will do and won't do.

About a year ago I reduced my chlosterol 102 points in 9 weeks using nothing but natural supplements. My doctor gave me a months supply of Lipitor and when I returned it to him I believe he was pissed off because I didn't take his BAD pills. I think a person must use their head, there are companies that sell junk and there are companies that sell reliable supplements.

[hedgetrimmer]

Nothing in the WTO SPS Agreement will require the United States to adopt the Codex Guidelines.

**

But, the US continues to downward harmononize its food safety standards just the same. And it is industry "working groups" that are doing it, not our the justly elected representatives of the people of the United States.

The codex Alimentarius is an example of our loss of sovereignty.It is not metioned in the NAFTA because it was chartered AFTERWARDS to be the global food sanition regulatory body. It was created by the WTO (which describes itself as a subsidiary organization to the WTO), to "harmonize" sanitary and phytosanitary food regulations. "Harmonization" means standardizing US rules downward to the lowest standard country in whatever FTA we sign. It is an UNELECTED committee that answers to the UN and the WTO. The only way the US has representation here is to send people as parts of "working groups". In the old days (before the WTO) our FDA and congressional subcommittees determined food safety standards. The private individual could always contact their congressional representatives and have input. The people who are assigned to "working groups" are almost always industry professionals or employed by NGOs. This fits the model for "civil governance" developed by the United Nations to take power away from individual citizens and sovereign nations and give it over to the groups I mentioned earlier-- corporations and NGOs who are much more amenable to the interests of the United Nations.

NAFTA and the WTO provide powerful incentives for governments to harmonize standards and regulations even when they are not legally required to do so by the pacts. NAFTA and the WTO also set constraints on member countries' domestic laws by naming certain international standards as the presumptively permissible ones, and by establishing binding international dispute resolution processes where non-conforming domestic laws can be challenged.

--HARMONIZATION HANDBOOK Accountable Governance in the Era of Globalization: the WTO, NAFTA, and International Harmonization

[Dog Gone]

I don't know what it is but CAFTA is turning normally sane people into moonbats.

There is a distinct possibility they've always been moonbats.