Montana Rally Opposes Fast Track Legislation

 
An assortment of Montana labor, environmental and human rights organizations joined farmers and ranchers in a Big Sky Fair Trade Campaign to urge Senator Max Baucus, the new chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, to vote against the Bush administration's quest for Trade Promotion Authority.

According to Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, which participated in the rally, the Montana groups argued that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has depressed beef prices due to an influx of imports from Canada and Mexico. This trend could increase under the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), they noted. Another topic of concern was dangers in the area of food safety. So-called "mad cow" disease and foot and mouth disease could devastate Montana's agricultural sector if present in imported beef and livestock.

The groups participating in the Big Sky Fair Trade Campaign included the Northern Plains Resource Council, the Montana affiliate of the AFL-CIO, the Sierra Club, the Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and the Environment, the Montana Environmental Info Center, the Montana Human Rights Network, the Alliance for Democracy, and Teamsters Local 190.

See Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch website, www.tradewatch.org, for more information.