 Washington Fair Trade Coalition Working on behalf of people and the planet for a fair global trading system |
||||
|
News & Events >> Fair Trade News February 2008 | ||||
|
Fair Trade News February 2008 Newsletter of the Washington Fair Trade Coalition In this issue:
Rick Larsen visits Colombia The battle over the future of the Colombia FTA continues on a low-level boil between Congress and the Bush administration. While the prevailing trade winds still indicate that the agreement will not be brought to the floor before the 2008 elections, intense pressure from the Bush administration means that fair traders such as ourselves must remain vigilant and ensure that our elected officials oppose this extremely worrying agreement. Last week Condoleezza Rice and 10 Democratic members of Congress went to Colombia as part of a "fact finding" trip. Washington state's Representative Rick Larsen was part of the delegation that spent just over 24 hours in Colombia, primarily in the city of Medellín. It is not yet clear what the delegation took away from this visit (interestingly, Larsen has no information or statements about the trip on his website). While information-gathering is all well and good, a 24 hour trip organized by the White House is unlikely to have been an unbiased venture. We can hope that it has reinforced opposition to this appalling agreement. Concerned constituents should feel free to call Larsen's office (202-225-2605) to request information about what the Representative saw there and what his views are regarding the FTA.
State of the Union speech addresses importance of trade On January 28th, George W. Bush delivered his last State of the Union Address as President of the United States. He spoke at length about trade, thus highlighting the importance that trade policy has for his administration. He praised the freeing of markets, the conclusion of the Doha WTO round, and argued for the need to pass all pending FTAs, including Colombia. On Colombia, the President said: "The first agreement that will come before you is with Colombia, a friend of America that is confronting violence and terror, and fighting drug traffickers. If we fail to pass this agreement, we will embolden the purveyors of false populism in our hemisphere. So we must come together, pass this agreement, and show our neighbors in the region that democracy leads to a better life." Of course, he failed to mention the horrific killing of union workers and the government impunity that continues to enable it, among other major concerns about this agreement. Interestingly, President Bush clearly indicated that he sees a connection between free markets and increased democracy and stability. To which our response must be: First, Colombia must show us that it can behave in a democratic and accountable way, respectful to all of its citizens. Only then will we reward this country with enhanced trade preferences. The full text of the address can be found at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/01/20080128-13.html
Coalition update 2008 has already been a busy year for the Washington Fair Trade Coalition! Here are some updates on the coalition: 501(c)4: the WFTC recently received confirmation of our 501(c)4 status! We are pleased that, after much paperwork and legal maneuverings, our legal status is now official. Seattle Education Association: we met with the SEA and formally invited them to join the coalition in January. Their Board has approved, and after some final approval we should have our 31st member organization! CTC fly in: from Feb 8-11th, Stephanie Celt, Tom Buchanan, and Allan Paulson will be traveling to DC to attend the annual CTC fly in. The weekend will be packed full of updates on trade policy issues, training sessions, and inspiring speeches. We will also be spending one entire day meeting with our Washington delegation, talking to Congress members and LAs about how we can work together to support fair trade policy this year. We will let you all know how the conference goes! Interns: we are pleased to announce that the WFTC is benefiting from the help of FIVE student interns this quarter! Kiera Senst, Michael Abbot, Aaron Williams, Natalie Harrison, and Kendall Summers are working with us as part of the UW's Service Learning program, and will be working on a variety of research and communications projects. We are very lucky and excited to have this extra help!
For further reading "Mexican Farmers Protest NAFTA" Full text of President Bush's State of the Union address |
||||
|
606 Maynard Ave S • Suite 252 • Seattle, WA 98104 | ||||