06 April 2005
Trade Pact Would Solidify Gains in Central America, Officials Say
Zoellick, Padilla outline anticipated benefits of free-trade agreement
Washington – The remarkable progress toward democracy achieved in Central America over the past 10 to 15 years could be reversed if economic conditions are allowed to deteriorate, Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick told representatives of Central American and Dominican Republic communities in the United States (CENDRUSA).
The proposed free-trade agreement between the United States, the nations of Central America and the Dominican Republic is vital to the economic well-being of the participating countries but its implications reach far beyond the realm of commerce, Christopher Padilla, assistant U.S. trade representative for intergovernmental affairs said at the State Department-hosted dialogue on the potential benefits of the accord April 6.
As the U.S. Congress considers whether to approve the agreement, which is commonly known as CAFTA-DR, "nothing less than the future of our relationships with the region's democracies is at stake," Padilla said.
The U.S. Congress is expected to consider ratification of the free-trade agreement with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR) during April.
U.S. attention to Central America and the Dominican Republic can be transitory, Padilla said, so CAFTA-DR would serve as a necessary correction to those lapses of attention. "Sometimes the region is the focus of great debate in Washington," while at other times, attention is directed elsewhere, Padilla explained. If approved, however, CAFTA-DR would " help promote a more stable and mature relationship with the region," he said.
Zoellick, who served as U.S. trade representative prior to becoming deputy secretary of state, endorsed Padilla's argument and elaborated on many of the same themes. "President Bush believes strongly that the region's prosperity depends on three commitments: to democracy, to security, and to free markets," Zoellick said. "Now we're on the verge of a very important economic partnership with six democracies", he said, predicting that such a partnership would "lower tariffs, open markets, and most importantly, establish rules for a 21st-century global economy."
CAFTA-DR "is about much more than trade," Zoellick added. By creating more economic opportunity throughout the region while increasing transparency and accountability, CAFTA-DR has great potential to ease poverty, fight corruption, boost democratic institutions, and strengthen the rule of law in countries that may need reinforcement in those areas, he said.
Critics of CAFTA-DR "want us to turn our back on struggling democracies," Zoellick said. "Those critics are wrong."
By contrast, he said, the freely elected governments in all six of the region's countries support the agreement, because "those democracies know that CAFTA-DR is a landmark on their path to prosperity."
Responding to opponents who claim that CAFTA-DR is insufficiently concerned with protecting workers' rights, Zoellick said the pact specifically calls for "better enforcement of labor laws" as well as protection of the environment. He urged U.S. citizens to contact their congressional representatives to express support for free trade and open economies in general, and CAFTA-DR in particular.
Regarding complaints about CAFTA-DR from U.S. labor unions, Zoellick said: "This is very frustrating, because of course regional countries can't make more progress [on labor issues] until they become more prosperous. The real question is how will conditions get better if we stiff-arm the region?"
Zoellick insisted that the region's democratic gains of the last two decades must be consolidated in order to ensure long-term prosperity and stability. He said that during the fairly recent past, many countries in the region had rejected military juntas and civil conflicts in favor of democratic rule. He warned that this remarkable progress could possibly be reversed if economic conditions are allowed to deteriorate.
"I don't think we can take the progress of the last 10-15 years for granted; I can see a scenario" where those gains would be rolled back "and what a tragedy that would be," Zoellick said. He suggested that implementation of CAFTA-DR would help to spur regional development and bolster legitimate governments, thereby lowering the risk of social and political upheaval.
"There are really big stakes in this, and we need people to emphasize those stakes," he concluded.
(See related article, U.S. Officials List Benefits of Trade Pact with Central America)
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
