Bush Pushes ANOTHER Bad Trade Deal—This Time With Peru

[Omaha Steve]

Full article: http://blog.aflcio.org/2006/08/08/bush-pushes-another-bad-trade-deal%e2%80%94this-time-with-peru/

Legislation & Politics

Aug 8

E-Mail This Article
Bush Pushes ANOTHER Bad Trade Deal—This Time With Peru

The Bush anti-worker trade brigade is at it again—pushing another bad trade deal. This time, the pact is with Peru, and like all the other deals this administration has made, this one includes no real labor rights guarantees and no mechanism to create good jobs here or in Peru, while offering weak environmental protections.

Even the Bush State Department admits Peru has weak labor laws that fail to protect workers’ rights and restrict workers’ freedom to form unions. In addition, child labor is widespread, and the minimum wage fails to provide a decent standard of living.

The Peru deal is just the latest in a series of Bush trade debacles. This summer, the House and Senate approved the Oman Free Trade Agreement (OFTA), opposed by the AFL-CIO and more than 350 labor, religious, consumer, farm and environmental groups because–like the Peru Free Trade Agreement–the OFTA lacks strong and enforceable labor and environmental standards and likely will cost jobs in the United States and will do nothing to protect the rights of workers in Oman.

The Bush White House regularly claims other countries don’t want enforceable workers’ rights in the trade deals. But they can’t sing that tune this time. Last year, Peru President Alejandro Toledo offered to include internationally recognized basic labor rights standards from the International Labor Organization, including the right to form unions. But according to Reps. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the Bush administration rejected Toledo’s position because the U.S. would have to change some of its own laws to be in compliance.

[acmejack]

1. Bad for whom?

They're only bad for us! They're great for folks like him...