CAFTA Labor Complaint on Guatemala

Guatemala offers the first test of the ability of CAFTA (Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement) to protect worker rights.  In April 2008, the AFL-CIO and six Guatemalan trade unions filed with the US government a CAFTA labor complaint against Guatemala.  

The complaint uses several case studies to document illegal firings, failure to bargain in good faith, health and safety violations, and violence against trade unionists in Guatemala.  After three years of little progress, the Obama Administration said in August 2011 that it would take Guatemala to arbitration but the governments subsequently resumed closed door negotiations that continued as of the end of 2012.  The very limited actions taken by the Guatemalan government over this lengthy period indicate that CAFTA’s penalties for failing to address labor rights violations, including murder, are not feared, especially by employers.

In Janurary 2013, Guatemalan unions released a report with recommendations on what steps should be taken by the Guatemalan government to address worker rights violations in the CAFTA labor complaint.

CAFTA Worker Rights Violations Exclude Murder

Particularly disconcerting is the Obama Administration's view that the murder of a trade unionist is not a violation of worker rights subject to the CAFTA labor complaint process.  In addition, the Administration has done little to press the Guatemalan government to address violence and impunity, even though Guatemala trails only Colombia in number of trade unionists murdered.  See page 8 of the Fall 2012 USLEAP newsletter for additional information.

CAFTA Labor Complaint on Honduras

TransPacific Partnership (TPP) Free Trade Agreement

The Obama Administration has begun negotiations for a TransPacific Partnership (TPP) FTA involving the US, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Vietnam, Chile, Singapore and Peru.  Mexio and Canada joined the negotiations in 2012.  TPP is the first FTA negotiated by the Obama Administration.  Despite 2008 campaign promises for a new deal on trade, the TPP is essentially based on the flawed NAFTA and CAFTA models, albeit with a U.S. proposal for stronger worker rights protections.  The U.S. proposal on worker rights protections is reportedly opposed by the majority of other countries engaged in the negotiations but worker rigthts advocates believes it does not go far enough.

Anti-FTA advocates and members of Congress have rallied around the TRADE Act, the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment Act, which calls for a more balanced way to expand trade.  For more information about the TPP and the TRADE Act, see the Citizens Trade Campaign.

"Fast Track" Trade Authority

Under "Fast Track," Congress is not able to make amendments to trade agreements. The Administration negotiates the terms of the agreement and Congress can only approve or reject an agreement as negotiated. On June 30, 2007, Congress alllowed "fast track" to expire. Without "fast track," it is considered nearly impossible for an Administration to negotiate and pass new trade agreements. Eventual renewal of "fast track" will effectively set U.S. policy on key rules for the global economy in the next round of trade agreements. "Fast track" paved the way for passage of NAFTA, CAFTA, and the most recent agreements with Peru, Colombia, South Korea, and Panama. The Obama Administration said when it entered office that it would not ask for "fast track"authority before undertaking extensive consultations about future directions for U.S. trade policy but it has since then begun negotiations for a TransPacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) and is expected to seek in 2013 a renewal of fast track authority.