[Antiracism] Urgent Massachusetts Alert: Don't let U.S. House sell us out on NAFTA Expansion

[Emily Kawano]

PLEASE CIRCULATE:

MASSACHUSETTS ALERT: REPS. CAPUANO, MEEHAN AND OLVER STILL UNDECIDED. 
CALL YOUR HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES ABOUT NAFTA EXPANSION TO THE MIDDLE EAST - URGENT!

Don't let our Congress sell us out on NAFTA Expansion 

After little warning and less time for debate, the U.S. Senate and The House Ways and Means Committee voted on the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement (OFTA) on Thursday, June 29. Due to major concerns about labor and human rights violations, as well as threats to our democracy, national security, and good jobs here at home, every single Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee voted against the agreement. 
 
There is a very good chance that we can defeat this terrible trade deal on the House floor, where a vote is expected the week of July 10th . It is urgent that Representatives hear from their constituents TODAY to know that we have had enough of unfair trade agreements that threaten jobs, labor rights, democracy and security. 

Massachusetts is a critically important state, and Representatives Capuano, Meehan and Olver are still undecided, and need to hear from constituents today. You can use the talking points at the bottom of this email.

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CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE

Call his or her DC office and ask to speak to the person handling trade policy. Tell him or her that expanding NAFTA to Oman is a bad idea! 

Marty Meehan:  D.C. Office: (202) 225-3411
                          Haverhill Office: (978) 521-1845

John Olver:  D.C. Office: (202) 225-5335
                     District Office: (413)-532-7010

Mike Capuano:  D.C. Office:  (202) 225-5111
                         District Office:  (617) 621-6208

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Not sure who your member of Congress is? Find out here: http://action.citizen.org/getLocal.jsp 
If you can't find your representative's phone number, you can call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your representative by simply giving the switchboard receptionist your zip code.

When you call, ask for a written statement of your congressperson's position on OFTA to be sent you by email or regular mail. You can also use some of the talking points below; if you have a local or personal story that shows the damage caused by a bad trade agreement, use it to illustrate your concerns.

After you've called, please let us know what you learned! This is critical to our ability to hold Congress accountable. You can contact Elsie Flemings at eflemings at citizen.org .

Please forward this note to your friends and neighbors. We have to act fast if we want to make sure Congress puts the kibosh on President Bush's crazy plans to expand NAFTA to the Sultanate of Oman!

Thank you for all that you do!

The Global Trade Watch Team

p.s. This agreement even worse than the NAFTA/CAFTA model, particularly because of the extreme lack of labor and human rights conditions in Oman. To read the letter of concern and opposition sent by over 400 unions, environmental groups, religious organizations, and other concerns citizens' groups, go here: http://www.citizenstrade.org/pdf/Oman_Sign-On_Letter,_6-27-06.pdf 

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Talking Points on the Oman Free Trade Agreement:

* More NAFTAs mean more lost U.S. jobs. A decade of NAFTA has resulted in the largest U.S. trade deficit ever-a deficit caused by a flood of job-killing imported goods and the export of 3 million U.S. manufacturing jobs. Our wages are flat even as prices rise. We can't afford any more NAFTA-like trade deals. We need to change this broken trade model! 

* Oman bans independent labor unions! Currently in Oman it is illegal to form independent trade unions. Workers can only join "representative committees" that include management representatives. The OFTA, like CAFTA and NAFTA, has strict intellectual property rights protections with tough enforcement - but no enforceable labor rights. OFTA merely requires Oman to enforce its own labor laws, and while the Sultan has promised "reform," OFTA would provide no recourse if he changes his mind. Under OFTA, there's not even any penalty for weakening this existing bad law further. 

* This Oman FTA will lead to serious human rights abuses. The majority of the private sector workforce in Oman are foreign-born "guest workers" from China, Bangladesh and other poor countries. Recent horrific reports about the results of the U.S. Free Trade Agreement with nearby Jordan show how labor rights abuses and human trafficking can greatly increase with the introduction of a free trade agreement. The State Department has noted that Oman "does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking." 

* The Oman FTA gives foreign corporations more rights than U.S. citizens. OFTA contains the same type of "investor-state" provisions as NAFTA and CAFTA, which would allow an Omani company (or a company from any other country incorporated in Oman) to sue the United States government in a secret tribunal, demanding payment from our tax dollars, if the company feels that any U.S. government policy is restricting their ability to make profit. 

*OFTA could undermine U.S. national security. The OFTA goes beyond even CAFTA and NAFTA in explicitly promoting rights for foreign companies - including government-owned companies - to operate our sensitive infrastructure: electricity grids, port operations and more. OFTA allows foreign investors to take the U.S. government to secret tribunals if the profitability of any foreign investment in these sensitive sectors is threatened by an act of the U.S. Congress!

For more info about U.S.-Oman FTA, go here: http://www.citizenstrade.org/oman.php 

Have you sent a letter to Congress about the Oman agreement yet? If not, do so here: http://action.citizen.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3664 

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