Save Free Trade from its Friends
Looking around the web for information on the proposed trade treaty with Latin America (DR-CAFTA), I bumped in this Heritage Foundation "defense" of the treaty:
- DR–CAFTA countries have adopted the core labor standards of the International Labor Organization.
- DR–CAFTA requires effective enforcement of labor regulations. Failure to comply would lead to monetary fines and/or the loss of preferential trade benefits.
- Programs have been designed to assist these countries in strengthening their institutional capacity to administer labor regulations effectively.
Have a look at the ILO standards and pity any poor country saddled with this regulatory apparatus.
Then follows a perfunctory suggestion that regulations not be increased too much. I say "perfunctory" since the very next point assures us that with economic development "the desire and ability to implement labor protections and expend resources on their enforcement become stronger."
Comments (4)
Stefan Karlsson
It seems then that Senator Smoot Schumer (As Larry Kudlow likes to call him because of his consistent protectionism) haven't read the details of CAFTA. In a interview with Kudlow, Schumer claimed to oppose CAFTA because labor standards are insufficiently draconian.
Published: July 11, 2005 2:49 PM
Dennis Sperduto
With organizations such as the Heritage Foundation providing this type of commentary and analysis, thank goodness for the Mises Institute and the very few other instiutions like it.
Published: July 11, 2005 3:18 PM
Donald Sheldon
In our congress it seems that the misdirection of the public by the miss naming of bills has risen to an art form. The "free trade agreements" are just symptomatic of this ongoing antic by our mainstream political establishment. Thank you for once again calling our attention to this misdirect by our elected officials. We need to call their hand on this always. Sometimes they appear just ignorant or stupid however I believe that they often are more sinister and are misdirecting us intentionally. Difficult to know the difference.
Donald Sheldon, Chairman
Libertarian Party Broward County Florida
Published: July 12, 2005 4:15 PM
zuzu
CAFTA Treaty Exports DMCA
Posted by timothy on Tuesday August 02, @08:19PM
from the how-pleasant dept.
PingXao writes "The BSA, RIAA and MPAA successfully lobbied the U.S. Congress to include DMCA-like provisions in the recently approved CAFTA treaty, according to CNet. Among other provisions, Chapter 15 of the treaty requires treaty signatories to allow software patents, extend Copyright protections to 70 years after the author's death, and make it illegal to produce 'circumvention devices' for protected works."
Published: August 2, 2005 10:15 PM