Look before Leaping:
Canada-Central America Free Trade Agreement Fundamentally Flawed
Canada is quietly on the verge of re-starting the last phase of negotiations for yet another free trade agreement. This one is known as the Canada-Central America Four Free Trade Agreement (CA4FTA), in reference to its negotiating partners – Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Canada already has a similar agreement with Costa Rica, which is built on the model of the problematic North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Canada’s eagerness to replicate this ‘free trade’ model is questionable given what is known about its impact, particularly on developing nations.
NAFTA has not delivered its promised benefits to the Mexican people. The facts are troubling: 1.5 million campesino farmers have lost their livelihoods, wages remain low, union organizing is suppressed, and, as has been the case in Canada, the government has had to pay millions of dollars in “compensation” to businesses whose operations were deemed to be affected by environmental or health protection measures. Even when Canada wins it loses. Such was the recent tribunal process that ruled in Canada’s favour over soft wood lumber. NAFTA’s strongest economic partner, the U.S., simply ignored the tribunal’s ruling.
Central Americans have witnessed these results and have had time to analyze the consequences of such agreements on their economies. As a result, during the year-long battle to ratify the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States, tens of thousands of Central Americans took to the streets to oppose their governments’ intent to sign. In response, some governments used repressive measures to quell public protest and ensure ratification.
In a context of acute poverty and inequity, communities across Central America struggle with corporate exploitation of natural resources, and explosive land conflicts. Central America still has highly militarized societies, human rights abuses are rampant and impunity, not justice, is the norm.
The proposed CA4FTA will bring a new layer of binding regulations to the region’s governments, and powerful new rights for corporate investors—without any corresponding responsibilities to respond to community concerns or respect human rights standards. But there is no way of knowing the details of the trade agreement, as the Canadian government has refused to release the draft text for public examination and discussion.
Given the wide popular opposition to the ‘free trade’ model in both the U.S. and Central America, Canada should urgently re-evaluate its own trade objectives in the region. These objectives must not override its human rights obligations and commitment to locally-driven, sustainable development.
To demonstrate its commitment to transparency, civil society participation, and human rights obligations, we insist that Canada:
➢ release the full text of the CA4FTA while it is still being negotiated and at least three months before the agreement is ratified, and ensure that its Central American counterparts do the same;
➢ conduct an independent human rights impact assessment of the proposed agreement before proceeding with negotiations;
➢ ensure Canadian public and parliamentary debate of the CA4FTA prior to Cabinet ratification.
Signed,