Andean Free Trade Agreement
The US has been negotiating for almost two years a trade agreement with three Andean countries (Peru, Colombia and Ecuador). The agreement is very similar to the highly questioned CAFTA agreement. They had hoped that all three countries would cave in to all of their demands and agree to the US agenda. But it has been much more complicated. Here are some recent updates from the region.
"Just Say No!" ad goes to print!
The pending trade agreements with Peru, Panama, Colombia and Korea are just four more NAFTA-style, corporate pacts that will do nothing for American workers or our neighbors in these countries. Last November, U.S voters joined people from around the world in calling for a trade model based on economic justice rather than corporate greed. Last week, Congress heard from you again in the newspaper. Now we hope you will contact them as they return to their districts for the August recess.
JUST SAY NO! to Fast Track
Trade Promotion Authority, better known as Fast Track will expire on June 30th. Because this power has been so abused by the Bush Administration, Quest for Peace and the Alliance for Responsible Trade have launched a campaign to place a Signature Ad in the New York Times once the request for a renewal of Fast Track has happened. We recently launched a new web site around this campaign. To read more about this campaign and add your signature to this initiative, please go to: http://www.notofasttrack.org/
Press Release from Andean Indigenous Organizations
Press Release
Five Hundred official delegates from the following groups: ECUARANI (Ecuador), CONACAMI (Peru), CONAMAQ (Bolivia), ONIC (Colombia), and CITEM (Chile are participating in the First Congress of the Andean Coordinating Committee of Indigenous of Indigenous Organizations (Quechua, Kichwa, Aymara, Mapuche)
Peru on the verge of indefinite strike against the FTA
Lima, July 3 (Prensa Latina) - Today Peruvians are threatening an imminent agrarian strike in protest of the country's congressional ratification of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States, which they consider detrimental to national interests.
UPDATES ON THE OMAN AND PERU TRADE BILLS
The US-OMAN FTA was voted on in the Senate on Thursday June 29th. Unsurprisingly, it passed 60-34 with 6 Senators not voting. This kind of outcome in the Senate was not unexpected- but the distressing votes were from Senators Clinton, Kerry and Obama, who all voted for the agreement.
