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CAFTA

Bullets and bananas: The violence of free trade in Guatemala
4-May-2008 Upside Down World
The ongoing violence against workers in Guatemala makes it clear that talk of free trade improving human rights in developing countries is lost in translation.
Resistance to UPOV and the privatisation of life in Costa Rica
25-Apr-2008
Interview with Silvia Rodríguez Cervantes of Costa Rica’s Biodiversity Coordination Network about the national struggle against joining UPOV (Union for the Protection of New Plant Varieties) as required by CAFTA.
Guatemala accused in CAFTA labor complaint
24-Apr-2008 LA Times
Guatemalan and US labor groups filed a complaint Wednesday with the US Department of Labor alleging that Guatemala had failed to uphold its own labor laws as required under the Central American Free Trade Agreement.
Dominican Government sacrificed RD$2.3B with Free Trade
22-Apr-2008
Figures from the Customs Agency (DGA) show Dominican Government has sacrificed RD$2.3 billion since the United States-Central America Free Trade Agreement began.
U.S. or E.U.? Tico politicos split over best foreign investor
9-Apr-2008
Costa Rican lawmakers are divided over who makes a better investor in their country, the United States or the European Union, according to a recent questionnaire.
Dominican business criticizes FTAs
4-Apr-2008
Dominican businesspeople do not see any advantages on the Free Trade Agreement signed between the Dominican Republic, the US and Central America (CAFTA-DR), said Ignacio Mendez, president of the Dominican Industrials Association.
The ravaging effects of capitalism on my hometowns
4-Apr-2008 AlterNet
What will become of Costa Rica? That’s the question on my mind, now that my adopted country has narrowly accepted CAFTA. Our national slogan is "Pura vida!" meaning "pure life," and it’s commonly used as an affirmation that life is good. It’s easy to understand how such an expression could catch on here: Costa Rica has virtually no enemies, a temperate climate, and a hell of a lot of good beaches. However, as an expatriate whose previous hometowns have been despoiled by global capitalism, I find it difficult to imagine that life will be as pure or as good once the effects of CAFTA begin to kick in.
Costa Rica telecom market seen opening soon
4-Apr-2008
Costa Rica, one of the few Latin America countries still with a state-run telephone sector, is expected soon to open to big foreign players as part of a trade deal with the United States.
Dominican Republic not eligible for money from DR-CAFTA
1-Apr-2008
The Dominican Republic and Guatemala are the only two countries in DR-CAFTA that have not been able to access money from the Millennium Account due to internal issues.
Trade deal spurred foreign investment record, Dominican Central Bank says
25-Mar-2008
Direct foreign investment in Dominican Republic jumped to US$1.7 billion in 2007, year in which the DR-Cafta trade accord took effect in the country, the Central Bank said.
Gildan may get caught up in U.S. election politics on Honduras tariff ruling
4-Mar-2008
Canadian sock manufacturing giant Gildan Activewear Inc. (TSX:GIL) could get caught in the middle of U.S. election-year politics as the Bush administration decides whether to end the company’s duty-free shipments of socks from Honduras.
Costa Rican Indigenous protest FTA
29-Feb-2008 Prensa Latina
Hundreds of Costa Rican indigenous people began a protest against the Free Trade Agreement between Central America, the Dominican Republic and the United States. They accused the FTA of imposing the use of patented seeds that prevent traditional crops and warned that the use of transgenic seeds from the United States would affect ancestral crops closely linked to the people’s view of the world and spirituality.
Costa Rica wins 7-month CAFTA deadline extension
28-Feb-2008
Costa Rica has won a seven-month extension from its U.S. and regional trade partners to pass laws required for its entry into the CAFTA free trade pact, President Oscar Arias said on Wednesday.
In 1 year, Dominican Republic lost RD$2.54B from Dr-Cafta trade pact
26-Feb-2008
Dominican Republic has lost from the Dr-Cafta trade pact, which took effect one year ago on Saturday, RD$2.54 billion from lost tax revenues, the Customs Agency (DGA) said in a statement.
El Salvador’s “American-made” Terrorism Act in corporate play
11-Feb-2008 MWC News
Critics of CAFTA say it was no coincidence that the anti-terrorism legislation was enacted six months after the trade agreement. Update on the case against the Suchitoto 13.
El Salvador: Benefits of free trade deal still remote
1-Feb-2008 Upside Down World
The Salvadoran government had proclaimed that from the moment of its entry into force, the free trade agreement with the United States would boost the local economy, creating thousands of jobs, so that even street vendors would be exporting their typical snacks. But nearly two years later, the economic paradise has yet to arrive.
Costa Rica to ask for US trade delay
29-Jan-2008 AP
President Oscar Arias said Tuesday he will ask the US to delay implementation of a free-trade agreement to give the country time to pass several necessary local laws.
US heels duty-free Honduran socks
22-Jan-2008 Marketplace
A trade war has erupted between the US and Honduras. The two countries are fighting over...socks. Bush says Honduran socks are causing serious damage to American sock-makers, so he wants to impose a hefty import tax on socks from Honduras.
Costa Ricans countdown on free trade with US
9-Jan-2008 Periodico 26
The Costa Rican Congress resumed discussion Monday on the complementary agenda required by March 1 for implementation of the Central American-US Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). Of the 13 bills needed, only 2 have been approved so far.
Legislators pass first CAFTA law
28-Nov-2007
The law, one of the least controversial of the 12, regulates the relationship between foreign companies and their representatives in Costa Rica.