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Printed in Farm News on August 18, 2006
To the Editor,
I am writing to express my thanks to Congressman Leonard Boswell
for voting against the misguided NAFTA expansion to the Middle East
– the U.S. Oman Free Trade Agreement (OFTA). Like NAFTA, the
OFTA threatens good jobs here, labor and human rights conditions
abroad and environmental protection.
Iowa is no stranger to trade-related job-loss. The buyout of Maytag,
with the impending loss of 1,700 good jobs, is only the latest in
a series of closings attributed to broken U.S. trade policies. The
OFTA deal, which passed by a narrow 8-vote margin, promises to perpetuate
the race-to-the-bottom in wages and working conditions.
These trade policies have also been detrimental to family farmers.
In the years since NAFTA, commodity prices have dropped across the
board, as the biggest processors and retailers benefited from the
new trade rules and were able to play farmers against each other
in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Since the passage of NAFTA, the
U.S. has lost over 200,000 small farms.
It is urgent now to look forward: the Bush administration is trying
to push similar NAFTA-style trade agreements with Peru and Columbia
that must be opposed. In addition, the White House’s trade
negotiating authority is set to expire next year, and we have an
important opportunity to advocate for an alternative system that
would set out a more democratic process to produce fairer trade
deals. Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and the National
Family Farm Coalition urge Congressman Boswell to vote against the
Peru and Columbia trade deals, and to play a leading role in creating
new trade models that are benefit working and farming families here
and abroad.
Sincerely,
George Naylor
President of the National Family Farm Coalition
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Member
712 S. Chestnut
Jefferson, IA 50129
515/370-3710
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