The Minnesota Senate passed a resolution opposing the passage of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), and urging Minnesota's Congressional delegation to vote against the trade deal.
The resolution said CAFTA could substantially harm Minnesota's $2 billion per year sugar beet industry, which provides 34,000 jobs in Minnesota. The resolution also noted the lack of enforceable standards for minimum labor and environmental protections in the agreement, and said that "CAFTA would escalate a race to the bottom in which nations compete for foreign investment by offering the lowest wages and most lax labor and environmental protections to the detriment of their populations, thus causing further loss of Minnesota manufacturing jobs."
The resolution further warned that CAFTA's provisions on subsidies and investments potentially conflict with state and local lawmaking, especially in the areas of economic development and land use, and that CAFTA gives foreign investors greater rights than Minnesotan or other U.S. investors.
The Bush administration negotiated the CAFTA deal to include the United States, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic (which actually is in the Caribbean, not Central America).
Senators passed the anti-CAFTA resolution (SF 0834, introduced by Senator Leroy Stumpf, DFL-Plummer) by a vote of 46-10 on May 13. The measure was then referred to the House and had its first reading May 16.
On May 23, the Legislature adjourned its 2005 regular session, but Gov. Tim Pawlenty immediately called lawmakers back into special session to complete work on the state budget. Whether the House will act on the resolution during the special session is unclear.
This report courtesy of the Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition and the Resource Center of the Americas.
For more information
View the full text of the resolution on the Legislature's website, www.leg.state.mn.us
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The Minnesota Senate passed a resolution opposing the passage of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), and urging Minnesota’s Congressional delegation to vote against the trade deal.
The resolution said CAFTA could substantially harm Minnesota’s $2 billion per year sugar beet industry, which provides 34,000 jobs in Minnesota. The resolution also noted the lack of enforceable standards for minimum labor and environmental protections in the agreement, and said that “CAFTA would escalate a race to the bottom in which nations compete for foreign investment by offering the lowest wages and most lax labor and environmental protections to the detriment of their populations, thus causing further loss of Minnesota manufacturing jobs.”
The resolution further warned that CAFTA’s provisions on subsidies and investments potentially conflict with state and local lawmaking, especially in the areas of economic development and land use, and that CAFTA gives foreign investors greater rights than Minnesotan or other U.S. investors.
The Bush administration negotiated the CAFTA deal to include the United States, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic (which actually is in the Caribbean, not Central America).
Senators passed the anti-CAFTA resolution (SF 0834, introduced by Senator Leroy Stumpf, DFL-Plummer) by a vote of 46-10 on May 13. The measure was then referred to the House and had its first reading May 16.
On May 23, the Legislature adjourned its 2005 regular session, but Gov. Tim Pawlenty immediately called lawmakers back into special session to complete work on the state budget. Whether the House will act on the resolution during the special session is unclear.
This report courtesy of the Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition and the Resource Center of the Americas.
For more information
View the full text of the resolution on the Legislature’s website, www.leg.state.mn.us