[mgj-discuss] AFTA Noise Picket :: Monday 3/14 :: Noon to 1 pm

[Hope Chu]

When the US-Andean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) comes to 
town, let them know that we:

SAY NO TO DESTRUCTIVE AND UNFAIR TRADE AGREEMENTS, 
AND SAY YES TO WORKERS' RIGHTS, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, 
SMALL FARMERS, AND DEMOCRACY!  

Join the Mobilization for Global Justice in a Noise 
Picket!
*Monday, March 14th, 2005 
*Noon to 1 pm 
*USTR (17th and H Sts NW, Washington, DC)
Bring your pots, pans, and other noise makers!

September 2003: World Trade Organization (WTO) talks in 
Cancun, Mexico, collapse? 

November 2003: Free Trade of the Americas Agreement (FTAA) 
talks fail to begin?

December 2003: Mobilization for Global Justice (MGJ) 
pickets CAFTA talks in DC?

March 14th, 2005: US-Andean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) 
talks come to DC?

This spring, Washington DC will play host to a partial 
round of negotiations of the US-Andean Free Trade 
Agreement (AFTA), between the United States, Colombia, 
Peru, and Ecuador, with Bolivia observing. The 
negotiations follow 7 prior rounds of talks and will focus 
mainly on property rights and investment.

This round of AFTA features bilateral negotiations in 
which the US will attempt to browbeat the participating 
nations into accepting their terms - part of the US' 
attempt to resuscitate the FTAA through regional and 
bilateral agreements.  Bush is using fast track 
legislation which allows him to bypass Congress and have 
the AFTA signed by the end of this summer. The process 
lacks transparency and undermines democratic processes in 
all the countries involved, including the US. 

AFTA is a bad deal for:

* Working people: AFTA contains no enforceable labor 
protections, and is feared to escalate violence against 
labor organizers, especially in Columbia, where over 160 
labor leaders have been killed since 2003.

* Small farmers: AFTA will lower tariffs on agricultural 
products, creating markets that are vulnerable to dumping 
of highly subsidized products by the US.  This will force 
many small farmers into coca production, fuelling the 
cocaine trade.  In addition, AFTA's chapter on 
intellectual property rights and the patenting of seeds 
threatens agricultural sovereignty.

* Public health: Through AFTA's intellectual property 
provisions, the US is pushing to extend the period of 
patent protection beyond the 20 years established by the 
WTO, making it impossible for governments to use generic 
drugs or parallel production to provide access to 
affordable drugs.  

* Women, children, and the poor: AFTA includes provisions 
promoting the privatization and deregulation of essential 
services such as water, healthcare and education.  As 
these services become less accessible, the burden falls on 
women, children, and other vulnerable populations.

* The environment: AFTA provides no enforceable 
environmental protections, and AFTA countries can expect 
the same environmental degradation experienced by 
countries under the North American Free Trade Agreement 
(NAFTA).

When the representatives of Colombia, Bolivia, Peru and 
Ecuador come to town, let them know that that the people 
of the US say YES to access to essential services, 
workers' rights, the environment, and economic justice, 
and NO to AFTA!

----------------
hope at 50years dot org
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