While U.S. corporations can reduce costs by offshoring manufacturing jobs to lower-wage countries, they still must contend back home with medical benefit costs rising at double-digit rates. These costs are also problematic for foreign-based corporations in the United States that are accustomed to having these burdens shifted to individual taxpayers under various socialized medicine schemes in their home countries. CAFTA is written to address this problem.
Under Chapter 11, "Cross Border Trade in Services," a congressional approval of CAFTA will obligate (unconstitutionally) states and private professional associations to develop procedures for mutual recognition in "the authorization, licensing, or certification of services suppliers."
Professional licenses have been identified as barriers to free trade. And so they are. Take dentistry. In an event where "ahhh" is often the major part of the dialogue, language is clearly not the barrier to competition.
Start recognizing professional licenses from outside the United States and "fair" trade takes the next logical step. You can't offshore a dentist, but you can onshore one. Ditto for doctors, pharmacists, electricians and plumbers. Talk to a software engineer if you think this can't happen to your profession. And you thought CAFTA was about textiles?
Jim Capo
Greensboro
Comments (6)
I imagine I am the only Republican you all will ever talk to that opposed NAFTA, CAFTA, and every other free trade agreement around.
Posted by Tater | June 13, 2005 8:22 AM
I imagine our 6th District Congressman, Howard Coble, will step up to the plate and make the right call when and if CAFTA comes to a vote in the House. His public comments heretofore have indicated opposition to this agreement. It certainly has the business community divided. The NY Times today has an editorial on the subject which is not available in the N & R.
Posted by Fred Gregory | June 13, 2005 11:47 AM
The Republican co-Chair of the coalition to stop CAFTA in the US House is Walter Jones of NC's 3rd District. (Republican Lindsey Graham of SC is the co-chair in the Senate.) Republicans Foxx, and Taylor have also come out strongly against CAFTA. Republicans Coble, Hayes and McHenry are leaning the same way.
This is why President Bush's Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez was in Greensboro Friday scrounging for CAFTA votes. It was good to see that Congressman Coble was too busy in Washington however to make it back to town Friday afernoon to shake hands with the Secretary. In a likely tipoff to his final say on CAFTA Congressman Coble was also one of the 5 NC Congressman who voted to get the US out of the World Trade Organization (WTO) last week. The other four were Republicans Foxx, Taylor, Jones and Democrat McIntyre of NC's military district. (They have a thing for defending the sovereignty and independence of the United States in that district.)
Check out the NYT article Fred mentions. It clearly admits that if allowed to come into being CAFTA will in effect transfer (OSHA, etc.) fines for labor infractions from the US Treasury to the pending international CAFTA governance body. Per CAFTA, these fines will be based on compliance to the United Nations' International Labour Organization's 8 core labor principles --- only 2 of which are currently satisfied by US law.
Posted by Jim Capo | June 13, 2005 1:36 PM
My dear Fred:
I see that you were still able to read the NY Times...congratulations. Maybe you should share how you were able to read it since people still seem to be screeching about it being taken out of the N&R...
P.S. I have wrote Mr. Coble about my thoughts and I hope he listened. We'll have to wait and see.
Posted by Tater | June 13, 2005 1:38 PM
Simple Tater..just go to their( NYT ) website and register by giving them a little personal info and Shazam you have access.
Posted by Fred Gregory | June 13, 2005 2:13 PM
CAFTA is just another step in giving away the farm. Eventualy the UN will have complete control over everything in our day to day lives unless this stupidity stops. Of course there are those who would support the UN having a say in everything we do in this country especially when it comes to our military.
I don't care if you ride on the back of a donkey or an elephant, CAFTA needs to be stopped and then a strong push to rid ourselves of the other entangling alliances that we have gotten ourselves into in the last 50 yrs and that includes all the so called "free trade agreements". Ain't nothing free and guess who pays the bill.
Posted by mrproduce | June 13, 2005 7:44 PM