EJN: "NAFTA for Africa" ACTION ALERT! (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

Possible vote on THE "NAFTA for AFRICA Bill" next week! 
Call your Member of Congress toll-free at 
1-888-449-3511 (or long distance 202-224-3121) TODAY

The NAFTA for Africa bill, the so-called African Growth and Opportunity Act 
(H.R. 434), was marked up in the Ways and Means Committee on June 10th. This 
means that it could go to the floor anytime, and rumors on Capitol Hill say 
that we could see it on the floor of the House as early as next week!

Get to the phones and call your Member of Congress to oppose the NAFTA for 
Africa Bill. Get your friends & family & networks to do the same. Call early 
- call often, and let us know what you hear from your Member's office.

Talking Points:
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 	The "NAFTA for Africa" bill (H.R. 434) provides no debt relief to the 
Sub-Saharan countries, it sets no requirements to use African labor, and it 
ignores the AIDS crises in Africa. It grants extensive rights and benefits 
to multinational corporations operating in Africa, but requires nothing of 
them with respect to workers and protection of the environment. H.R. 434 
requires the African countries to meet a long list of U.S. imposed, 
IMF-style conditions (like slashing spending in areas like health and 
education). It also requires the sub-Saharan countries to open their markets 
to foreign speculators and multinational corporations, similar to the 
MAI-model.
 	Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.'s forward-looking "HOPE for Africa Act" (H.R. 
772), promotes equitable, sustainable and sovereign African development. The 
key elements of the "HOPE Act" are unconditional debt relief, 
self-determination of economic and social policies best suited to meet the 
needs of African people, requirements to employ African workers and to have 
African ownership. It also  requires foreign corporations operating in 
Africa to pay a living wage and operate by the same labor and environmental 
standards as they do in their home countries. Failure to do so results in 
barring of the products of the offending corporation from import to the US.

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The NAFTA for Africa Bill is a model example of a failed trade policy. Urge 
your Member to oppose H.R. 434 when it comes to a vote.

For more information about the NAFTA for Africa Bill and the HOPE for Africa 
Act, check out our web- page: www.tradewatch.org, or call any member of the 
Global Trade Watch Field team at 202-546-4996.

CALL CONGRESS TOLL-FREE 1-888-449-3511 (or long distance 202-224-3121)