Flaws, Not Fear, Mar Free-Trade Pact

Re “Room at the Top,” editorial, May 16: The AFL-CIO’s objections to the Central American Free Trade Agreement are based not on fear of poor countries but rather on the flawed content of the agreement, as well as on our work with Central American unions, farmers, environmentalists and people of faith -- many of whom share our view that CAFTA is the wrong way to integrate our economies and societies.

You misrepresented the International Labor Organization’s findings on Central America’s labor laws and the contents of the free-trade agreement with Jordan. The ILO documented 27 instances where Central America’s laws fall short of the organization’s standards. Very few of these deficiencies have been remedied.

CAFTA’s workers’ rights provisions are significantly weaker than those in the Jordan agreement. CAFTA requires only that countries enforce their own laws (which they can weaken without penalty), while the Jordan agreement requires countries’ laws to meet international standards.

Finally, there is no empirical evidence that trade liberalization leads to a “race to the top” for average workers; however, the evidence that trade policies have failed the poor and workers is much more compelling.

Thea Lee

Chief International Economist, AFL-CIO

Washington