CAFTA: A good thing

Fire of Liberty

Here's a column by National Review's Rich Lowry on how the Democrats in Congress have decided to throw up a protectionist brick wall next week when the legislation on CAFTA comes to the floor of the House. It shows you how determined the various special interests groups (unions, environmentalists, anti-globalization groups) are at refusing to allow the passage of a free-trade agreement because the other nation's don't meet the same labor standards as the US does. What these groups don't understand is that in order for these nation's to get to these standards and conditions of the US is through economic growth which can't be achieved as long as their locked out of the system by massive tariffs. In the long run the opening of these markets via free-trade agreements like CAFTA end up benefiting the people of Central America who can make money thus improving their living standards which allows them to buy products made by the factories that employ AFL-CIO workers. Instead of complaining and standing behind a protectionist wall, the various workers should put their energies towards greater productivity to produce even more products that will be purchased by the people in Central America.

Just see for yourself the benefits that the US and Central American countries will reap from the passage of free-trade agreements like CAFTA:

The agreement is a win-win. The University of Michigan estimates that it would boost U.S. income by $17 billion and Central American income by $5 billion. Thanks to their proximity to the U.S., CAFTA countries together constitute the 13th-largest U.S. trading partner. Forward-looking leaders in the region have made CAFTA a centerpiece of their development strategies, hoping to create a virtuous circle of economic growth feeding and building on political and economic reform.

Chile is a model. The U.S. trade agreement with Chile that went into effect in 2004 expanded exports between both countries by 30 percent its first year. As State Department official Robert Zoellick pointed out in a recent speech, "The country in Latin America that has dramatically reduced inequality, unemployment and poverty in recent decades while also increasing real wages and pensions for working families is Chile — the country that has most opened its economy to free trade."

The various members of the House can hem and haw about deal hurting the workers of America but they fail to realize that this is a world economy that needs buyers and sellers who aren't restrained by burdensome tariffs and protectionist measures that hinder growth and make corporations fat off the government teet.

Also, check out this editorial from The Washington Examiner supporting the passage of CAFTA. You'll learn a lot from this short but factual piece.