Canada - Central America Free Trade Agreement (CA4FTA)
What is CA4FTA?
The Canada - Central American Free Trade Agreement (CA4FTA) is a free trade agreement that Canada is currently negotiating with four Central American countries: Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala.
From NAFTA to CA4FTA and beyond ...
CA4FTA is essentially an expansion of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and will play a key part in a neo-liberal free trade integration model for the Western Hemisphere. Multilateral agreements such as the U.S. - Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) and the Plan Puebla Panama (PPP) are already setting the stage for a Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA).
No Transparency and No Public Debate = No Democracy!
Trade
negotiations for CA4FTA began in September 2000, however they are being
held behind closed doors, with no public consultation or parliamentary
debate. The Canadian government claims it launched public consultations
in January 2001, however at that time it did not provide any
information to the public regarding the intention or content of the
proposed agreement. Civil society has repeatedly asked the government
to release the full text of CA4FTA; however, the government continues
to keep the specific contents of the agreement a secret from the
public.
As a result of widespread public protests surrounding
the secret FTAA negotiations in April 2001, the Canadian government
promised to make the text of the agreement public. It should continue
to demonstrate its commitment to democratic principles by releasing the
full text of CA4FTA, so that civil society can ensure the agreement
will guarantee the primacy of economic, social, cultural and
environmental rights over trade laws.
Why people fear the CA4FTA ...
The fundamental lack of transparency of the CA4FTA raises fears among civil society groups, both in Canada and in Central America, about the potentially harmful effects this trade agreement will have on the poor of Central America. These fears are well founded, based on NAFTA's impact on the poor of Mexico: 1.5 million campesino farmers have lost their livelihood, wages remain low, and union organizing continues to face repression. Furthermore, NAFTA has a Chapter 11 clause that places the economic interests of foreign investors and transnational corporations above social justice and environmental sustainability. It does this through giving corporations the right to sue a national government if they deem a government regulation or decision as negatively impacting their company's investment and profit. NAFTA severely impedes the ability of national governments to legislate in the public interest. A similar clause is included in the U.S. agreement, DR-CAFTA, and is expected to be included in the CA4FTA. This highlights the vital need for our government to release the full text of the agreement and to commit to widespread public consultations before signing!
There are also fears that CA4FTA will include many of the other provisions found in DR-CAFTA. One main concern is a clause that allows multinational corporations to patent and claim the intellectual property rights (IPR) of plants and seeds that the majority of the world's poor depend on. Farmers that depend on their own traditional knowledge and access to local medicinal and nutritional plants for survival could be required to pay multinational corporations who steal and patent their seeds. This would effectively undermine the ability of farmers to survive, as well as destroy their ecologically sustainable agricultural practices. An additional concern is that like DR-CAFTA, the CA4FTA will include a provision that would undermine the right of poor countries to make affordable and generic medicines available for public health emergencies such as HIV/AIDS or malaria.
Stopping the "Race to the Bottom" ...
There is no doubt that CA4FTA will have significant environmental, political, economic, and cultural consequences. Therefore, the Canadian government should conduct a social and environmental impact assessment prior to signing the agreement. Civil society fears that CA4FTA will create a "race to the bottom" in labour and environmental standards. In the past, Canada has chosen to address the issue of worker's rights through separate agreements such as the North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC). This type of side agreement lacks fundamental enforcement mechanisms, especially when up against trade agreements such as NAFTA. Therefore, the Canadian government should ensure that CA4FTA includes an effective mechanism to ensure the protection, not erosion, of labour rights in signatory countries. A similar clause should be included for environmental standards, guaranteeing their precedence over trade concerns.