Date:  July 20, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

This editorial is authorized for reprint.

The following editorial was authored by Randy Stevenson, Vice President of the Organization for Competitive Markets.  If you would like to arrange an interview with Mr. Stevenson, would like a photo to accompany the editorial, or need any further information, please contact me at the number below.

Contact: Chase Carter, Executive Director, (402) 817-4443, carter@competitivemarkets.com

This editorial is authorized for reprint.

The Central American Free Trade Agreement- Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR) will outsource America’s sovereignty and create dependence on foreign agriculture.  Farmers, ranchers and feeders should call their Congressmen urging them to protect our representative government and our economy by voting against CAFTA.  The House of Representatives will vote soon on the measure, given administration pressure and deal making.

The primary concern with CAFTA-DR is the incremental outsourcing of our sovereignty to international bureaucrats who can strike down U.S. laws.  CAFTA subjects every act of Congress and state governments to potential review by an international arbitration tribunal in the event foreign companies dislike the laws and file a CAFTA complaint.  Unelected NAFTA tribunals have stricken 43 U.S. laws.  The WTO has stricken several more, reducing our options for farm and industrial policy.  We elect Congressman and Senators to do work for us, but they can’t do work for us when foreign tribunals have the power to declare our laws "illegal." The tribunals can even trump our Supreme Court. 

Here are examples of state laws that may be challenged.  Wyoming’s constitution disallows state contracts awarded to non-citizens, and would be challenged.  Nebraska’s packer ownership prohibition would be at risk.  Utah’s prohibition against internet gambling has been stricken by the WTO already.  Canadian cattlemen have filed a $300 million suit against the U.S. for the border closure to Canadian cattle, saying U.S. health rules violated NAFTA.  State’s rights are endangered by CAFTA-DR.

CAFTA cheerleaders say, with a straight face, that agriculture needs the agreement to expand exports.  NAFTA has helped turn us into a net food importer when agriculture was America’s most significant net export sector prior.  I have fed cattle throughout the life of NAFTA and have only seen imports gaining over the promised exports.

We will see integrators from the U.S. move to the CAFTA countries, double their production, and sell the product to the U.S. over the next 20 years.  There are currently companies scouting for investment possibilities according to industry rumor.  We cannot compete with $2.50 per day labor. 

But we also cannot expect $2.50 per day labor to be interested in buying our steaks and pork chops, despite administration promises.  The CAFTA economy sizes are equal to small U.S. cities, hardly providing the buying power implied by the administration.

We have outsourced our textile industry, our computer industry, and many other industries.  America is in the process of outsourcing our agriculture and our sovereignty.  Farmers and ranchers support our troops in Iraq, but we are giving away more freedom through trade agreements than any soldiers can gain overseas. 

CAFTA is not a trade agreement, it is an import agreement. There is no free lunch. CAFTA asks us to sell our collective soul for a few cheap imports as we proceed from a so-called North American cattle herd to a Union of the Americas.  Decisions will be made farther from the people, our trade deficit will grow, and only multinational trading companies will benefit.  This is not a prediction.  It has already happened.  We will just accelerate the trend with CAFTA and the planned Free Trade Agreement of the Americas to include Brazil and Argentina.

In his 1793 Farewell Address, President George Washington warned the nation, “The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible.” Washington clearly understood the inherent dangers posed to America by entangling alliances with other nations, when commerce might be advanced only with political strings attached.

Citizens should contact their Congressmen and urge them to safeguard our liberty and our economy. They should also contact their own State Legislators and inform them of the danger to states rights and encourage them to contact members of Congress to protect state sovereignty and individual liberty. CAFTA-DR is bad for our country, our agriculture, and our independence.

The Cattlemen’s Competitive Market Project (CCMP) is a self-help program for U.S. cattlemen, funded through voluntary contributions collected on cattle at the point of sale. Because the program is voluntary, funds may be used to promote USA RAISED (domestically produced) beef where other federally mandated programs cannot.