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CAFTA

A prescription for failure: Health and intellectual property in the Dominican Republic.
23-Mar-2010 Georgetown Law
A group of nine Georgetown Law students have written a report, "Prescription for Failure: Health and Intellectual Property in the Dominican Republic," which finds that U.S. efforts to increase intellectual property protections in the Dominican Republic may lead to sharp increases in the cost of lifesaving drugs and, as a result, the declining health and even deaths of those who may be unable to afford them.
In Costa Rica, CAFTA hits a snag
19-Jan-2010 Tico Times
While the Central American Free Trade Agreement with the United States technically has been in effect in Costa Rica for more than a year, one piece of it still languishes in the Legislative Assembly awaiting approval: changes to Costa RIca’s copyright rules.
Anti-mining activists killed in El Salvador
30-Dec-2009 Democracy Now!
For the second time in a week, a prominent anti-mining activist has been assassinated in El Salvador.
Costa Rica: March against impacts of CAFTA
12-Oct-2009 Infoshop
On 6 October, two years after the fraud that ordered the adoption of the FTA with the US, there was a People’s Walk for Dignity in the Southern Zone of Costa Rica.
Falling out and falling apart?
2-Sep-2009 IPS
The June coup d’état in Honduras was a body blow to political integration in Central America. The old idea of a protected and privileged trade area does not make any sense now in the light of globalisation, "so the concept of open integration was adopted. But that needed to be translated into concrete terms and this was not done."
Suspend Honduras from CAFTA, Dominican Leader Says
29-Aug-2009
Dominican President Leonel Fernandez said on Wednesday that Honduras should be suspended from the U.S.-Central America trade accord until the de facto regime in Tegucigalpa agrees to reinstate ousted President Mel Zelaya.
Dominican president rejects Honduran accusations
29-Aug-2009
President Leonel Fernandez requested the Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP) to condemn the coup d’état against Manuel Zelaya and support democracy, and rejected the statements from Honduran businessmen who called his proposal as "dirty and opportunistic."
A Trade Agreement’s Impact On Access To Generic Drugs
26-Aug-2009 Health Affairs
The Central America Free Trade Agreement has kept some generic drugs from Guatemala even though they’re available in the United States.
Project helps Guatemalans learn about international trade, agricultural marketing
17-Aug-2009
Through its Food for Progress efforts, the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture is helping farmers, agribusiness people and others in Guatemala make the most of producing, marketing and exporting a variety of agricultural products, said a project coordinator.
Study: Free trade spreading obesity
28-Jul-2009 UPI
An influx of US junk food into Central America as part of relaxed trade rules has led to Central American obesity and related illnesses, a study said Monday.
Nicaragua’s Peasant Movement achieves milestone on the road towards Food Sovereignty
21-Jul-2009 Grassroots International
tThe new law establishes a legal framework to regulate the participation of transnational companies and help local organizations and governments to restore local food culture and peasant agriculture despite the CAFTA-DR "free" trade agreement
US Ambassador to Guatamala reports CAFTA boosting free and open trade
10-Feb-2009 GRAINNET
In the first 11 months of 2008, for example, total US agricultural and food exports to CAFTA-DR countries hit $34 billion, which is up nearly 36 percent from the same period the previous year.
Bush deals last-minute insults to workers’ rights
29-Jan-2009 AFL-CIO
In Bush’s final hours in office, he implemented a trade agreement with Peru despite calls by Congress, unions, environmental and human rights groups to delay action to ensure that Peru’s laws meet its commitments before the agreement enters into force. At the same time, the Bush Labor Department’s Office of Trade & Labor Affairs rejected a petition, the first of its kind, under the labor provisions of the Central America Free Trade Act (CAFTA).
Canadian company threatens El Salvador with CAFTA lawsuit over mining project
22-Dec-2008 Upside Down World
A Canadian mining company intends to sue El Salvador’s government for several hundred million dollars if it is not granted permission to open a widely unpopular gold and silver mine that scientists warn would have devastating effects on local water supplies.
El Salvador warned of CAFTA-DR lawsuit by mining company
13-Dec-2008
A Canadian mining company and its American subsidiary have threatened the government of El Salvador with a lawsuit after it failed to receive regulatory approval to begin digging for gold and silver in an area some 65 km from San Salvador. The proposed mine has drawn intense opposition from civil society and church-based groups, although the mining company maintains that it enjoys broad public support in El Salvador.
Dealing with a bad deal: Two years of DR-CAFTA in Central America
18-Nov-2008 COHA
Two years have now passed since some Central American countries implemented DR-CAFTA’s mandates, and governments, farmers, and workers across the region are beginning to suffer the consequences of an unfair deal.
Ending 4-year battle, Costa Rica approves CAFTA
12-Nov-2008
Costa Rica is finally ready to join the Central American Free Trade Agreement.
Costa Rican economist says CAFTA is a bad deal
3-Nov-2008
Costa Rican economist and former presidential candidate Ottón Solís spent the spring at the University of Florida as the Bacardi Family Eminent Scholar, teaching a course on free-trade agreements in the Americas at the university’s Center for Latin American Studies.
Go Ahead Given For Approval Of Remaining TLC Bill
31-Oct-2008
The Sala Constitucional (Constitutional Court) resolved in record time the appeal by legislative members of the Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC) and Frente Amplio parties on the constitutionality of the Intellectual Property bill, the last of the "complimentary" laws that is required to be passed by the Legislative Assembly to ratify the Tratado de Libre Comercio (TLC) - free trade agreement with the United States.
Mood Shift Against Free Trade Puts Republicans on Defensive
31-Oct-2008
The U.S. has led the way in efforts to lower barriers to global trade since World War II, despite opposition from unions and voters hurt by foreign competition. This election could put trade-liberalization on ice for a while.