[Ip-health] 16 NY labor leaders' letter to Rep. Rangel including opposition to TRIPS+ in FTAs

[Mike Palmedo]

--
[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
snip]

Unfortunately, the unacceptable labor provisions in these deals are just th=
e beginning of what needs to be "fixed" if these agreements are substantive=
ly or politically even able to meet a "do no further harm" standard. The Pe=
ru and Colombia deals contain a host of other rules that run directly count=
er to the major interests of key Democratic constituencies, including: regr=
essive intellectual property rules that will drive up the cost of medicines=
 in Peru and Colombia; service sector foreign investor rights rules that re=
quire Peru to privatize its social security system and other rules that cou=
ld preclude the necessary fixes to our own flawed health care system; procu=
rement rules that were written to block the creation of state and local env=
ironmentally-sustainable procurement laws and could undermine the enforceme=
nt of Davis-Bacon prevailing wage laws; and investment rules that will chil=
l desperately needed environmental reforms - and that undermine the soverei=
gn power of
 Congress to strengthen port security.

On each of these issues: removing the outrageous Big-Pharma written patent =
rules, rolling back the service sector privatization and deregulation requi=
rements, eliminating the retrograde procurement rules that preclude anti-of=
f-shoring/ Buy American laws, and rewriting the environmental rules, removi=
ng the outrageous foreign investor privileges and fixing the Dubai Ports Wo=
rld problem, the Bush administration has been warned by democrats many time=
s not to include these provisions in trade agreements. The administration m=
ust reopen these agreements and remedy these problems to minimally defang t=
hese monstrous deals. We are relying on your leadership to make sure that e=
ither the administration fixes these basic, must-fix problems or the Democr=
atic majority rejects these agreements.

[snip]

------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL TEXT:

January 17, 2007

The Honorable Charles Rangel
Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means
United State House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Re: Working together to build Fair Trade Policy in the 110th Congress

Dear Chairman Rangel,

On behalf of our organizations, please accept our congratulations on your C=
hairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee. Your assumption of this presti=
gious and powerful position is long overdue!

We are writing today to inquire how we can best partner with you to support=
 fair trade policies moving forward. You are well aware of the looming oppo=
rtunities to deliver real change. And, there are real perils posed by the b=
eneficiaries of the NAFTA-CAFTA model who already are pushing for more of t=
he same middle-class-crushing job-export trade policies. After a decade of =
job-loss and wage stagnation resulting from their agenda, we welcome the ch=
ange in leadership in Washington. And, it is none too soon for New York, wh=
ere 256,000 high-paying manufacturing jobs have been lost to bad trade poli=
cy since NAFTA and WTO.

Happily, your leadership on changing our failed trade policy will find will=
ing troops in the Democratic rank and file. Nationwide, incumbents who had =
voted for NAFTA, CAFTA, WTO and Fast Track were replaced in the election by=
 30 Democrats rejecting these failed policies and advocating for trade poli=
cy that supports fair wages and good jobs, protects the environment, safegu=
ards our nation's food safety and gives our farmers a fair deal, and promot=
es our security by increasing the prosperity of our trade partners.

The campaigns of Democratic challengers demonstrated that supporting fair t=
rade is good policy and good politics. As USA Today noted ("Election Pushes=
 Globalization to the Forefront," 11/14/06): "The new congressional lineup =
raises the prospect of the most significant globalization debate since the =
1992 presidential campaign's bitter exchanges over NAFTA. Some already expe=
ct the issue to play a prominent role in the run-up to the 2008 election."

Trade issues will be vital in maintaining a Democratic majority in 2008 and=
 beyond. It is critical that Democrats are not divided on any trade vote so=
 that the Party lines are blurred on economic issues, as occurred after the=
 1993 NAFTA vote. Plus, the freshmen Democrats, many narrowly elected on th=
e wedge issue of fair trade, need opportunities to demonstrate to their con=
stituents that a Democratic Congress means the end of the more-of-the-same =
NAFTA-style trade policy that has devastated American working families.

Two imminent and foreseeable major trade debates - and opportunities for th=
e new Congress to promote fair trade - will be through a major battle to ei=
ther overhaul or defeat NAFTA expansions to Peru and Colombia, and through =
the replacement of the expiring "Fast Track" trade policy-making procedure.

Peru and Colombia NAFTA Expansion: The Bush administration signed NAFTA exp=
ansion "Free Trade Agreements" (FTAs) with Peru and Colombia last year usin=
g its expiring Fast Track power. It was a real snub that the administration=
 signed the Colombia FTA after the election, and despite your clear written=
 warning that the deal needed to be renegotiated and thus should not be sig=
ned. The Bush administration is playing political games on these NAFTA expa=
nsions. They say they are for trade expansion, but then given the opportuni=
ty to work with Democrats to make the Colombia FTA agreeable, they signed i=
t as is.

We respectfully urge you to demand that these FTAs are renegotiated to addr=
ess several critical flaws. The major debate so far has only centered on th=
e lack of enforceable labor provisions in the agreements. This is a real pr=
oblem - Colombia has the highest union murder rate. And it is critical that=
 the Bush administration's suggestion that this problem could somehow be so=
lved with a set of "side agreements" to the agreement is strongly rejected.=
 As demonstrated in NAFTA and in every trade agreement since, "side agreeme=
nts" are not subject to the same dispute resolution procedures as the agree=
ments' core text provisions, and therefore are not equally enforceable. The=
 weak labor provisions of these deals can only be fixed if the trade agreem=
ents are re-opened, re-negotiated and the core text of the agreements are c=
hanged to allow trade sanctions to be used to enforce violations of interna=
tional labor law.

Unfortunately, the unacceptable labor provisions in these deals are just th=
e beginning of what needs to be "fixed" if these agreements are substantive=
ly or politically even able to meet a "do no further harm" standard. The Pe=
ru and Colombia deals contain a host of other rules that run directly count=
er to the major interests of key Democratic constituencies, including: regr=
essive intellectual property rules that will drive up the cost of medicines=
 in Peru and Colombia; service sector foreign investor rights rules that re=
quire Peru to privatize its social security system and other rules that cou=
ld preclude the necessary fixes to our own flawed health care system; procu=
rement rules that were written to block the creation of state and local env=
ironmentally-sustainable procurement laws and could undermine the enforceme=
nt of Davis-Bacon prevailing wage laws; and investment rules that will chil=
l desperately needed environmental reforms - and that undermine the soverei=
gn power of
 Congress to strengthen port security.

On each of these issues: removing the outrageous Big-Pharma written patent =
rules, rolling back the service sector privatization and deregulation requi=
rements, eliminating the retrograde procurement rules that preclude anti-of=
f-shoring/ Buy American laws, and rewriting the environmental rules, removi=
ng the outrageous foreign investor privileges and fixing the Dubai Ports Wo=
rld problem, the Bush administration has been warned by democrats many time=
s not to include these provisions in trade agreements. The administration m=
ust reopen these agreements and remedy these problems to minimally defang t=
hese monstrous deals. We are relying on your leadership to make sure that e=
ither the administration fixes these basic, must-fix problems or the Democr=
atic majority rejects these agreements.

Another major opportunity for the Democrats to show the nation a different =
trade policy from the GOP's race-to-the-bottom model will be provided by th=
e expiration of the failed Fast Track mechanism on June 30, 2007. A few yea=
rs ago, the defenders of the NAFTA-WTO model got Fast Track renamed "Trade =
Promotion Authority" (TPA). But it's still the same outdated, extraordinary=
, Nixon-era White House power-grab of Congress' exclusive Constitutional au=
thority to set U.S. trade policy that was used to get us into NAFTA, WTO, a=
nd CAFTA and to pass many other damaging trade deals. Our Founding Fathers =
specifically provided for trade policy to be set by the Congress - as the b=
ranch of government closest to the people - not the executive branch.

The expiration of Fast Track provides a once-in-a-decade opportunity to cre=
ate a replacement mechanism for negotiating U.S. trade deals that sets mand=
atory rules for what must be in every trade agreement and what must never a=
gain be in any agreement. Only through replacing the failed Fast Track with=
 a new, democratic, transparent, and accountable fair trade policy-making p=
rocedure, can we hope to create trade agreements that deliver economic bene=
fits to the majority of people in the United States and raise living standa=
rds worldwide.

We look forward to working closely with you to make sure the Peru and Colom=
bia trade agreements are re-negotiated and Fast Track is replaced with a fa=
ir trade policy-making procedure. We know that with your strong leadership,=
 we can work together to reap the policy and political gains of a much-need=
ed transformation of our nation's trade policy.

Sincerely,

Ed Ott, Executive Director, New York Central Labor Council
Bruce Raynor, General President, UNITE-HERE
Sonia Ivany, President, and the Officers and Executive Board of LCLAA
Christopher Erikson, Business Manager, Local 3, IBEW
Gary LaBarbera, President, Teamsters Joint Council 16
William Pienta, Director, District 4, United Steelworkers
Michael P. Fishman, President, Local 32BJ, SEIU
George Boncoraglio, Metropolitan Region President, CSEA Local 1000, AFSCME
James Conigliaro, Directing Business Representative, District 15, IAM
Robert Madore, Region 9A Director, UAW
Chris Shelton, Vice-President, CWA District 1
Joseph Ramaglia, Business Manager/Secretary Treasurer, IUPAT District Counc=
il 9
Bob Master, CWA, Co-Chair, Working Families Party
Bertha Lewis, ACORN, Co-Chair, Working Families Party
Sam Williams, UAW, Co-Chair, Working Families Party
Brian O'Shaughnessy, Executive Director, Labor-Religion Coalition of New Yo=
rk State

Mike Palmedo
Research Coordinator
Program on Information Justice & Intellectual Property
American University, Washington College of Law
T - 202-274-4442 | F - 202-274-4226 | mpalmedo@wcl.american.edu

Mike Palmedo
Research Coordinator
Program on Information Justice & Intellectual Property
American University, Washington College of Law
T - 202-274-4442 | F - 202-274-4226 | mpalmedo@wcl.american.edu