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Unions and Social Organizations Campaign Against the FTAA The HSA's statement alludes to an issue that goes beyond the demand for transparency: the growing debate in many Latin American societies to submit the treaty to a plebiscite or other means of public approval. The HSA letter calls for the treaty "to be public and transparent, and for its terms to be submitted for consideration by the peoples of the Americas." An important element in calling for this change is the Conferencia Parlamentaria de las Am�ricas (COPA), along with other forums that are incorporating Latin American and Caribbean legislators in anti-FTAA initiatives. In the United States, a broad coalition has formed quickly in response to the Bush administration's effort to fast-forward Trade Promotion Authority, or "fast track." The coalition has gathered an impressive group of signatures for the letter below. It also opposes the "compromise" effort of Senator Bill Graham of Florida, which the AFL-CIO considers weak and untimely. The Citizens Trade Campaign, headed by Ralph Nader's group Public Citizen, has joined the AFL-CIO in this effort. The tensions between these two groups over strategy and personalities seem to be diminishing as the AFL-CIO finds less and less room to maneuver under this administration and the current Congress. The text below is the draft of the letter prepared by the HSA. The lengthy list of signatures gives an idea of the many different types of organizations involved in the anti-TPA coalition. June 19, 2001 Dear Representative, We are writing to urge you to oppose H.R. 2149, the "Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2001," introduced last week by Rep. Philip Crane. This bill grants the president "fast track" authority to negotiate new trade agreements, but prevents workers' rights and environmental standards from being addressed in any fast-tracked agreement and does nothing to ensure that trade rules are not used to directly challenge legitimate public interest laws and regulations. The bill is similar to fast track legislation that was rejected by the Congress in 1997 and 1998, except that it provides fewer positive goals on labor and the environment and more restrictions. We are both disappointed and outraged that Rep. Crane has chosen to introduce a bill that completely ignores the legitimate concerns our organizations have raised about the negative impact of current globalization policies on working people, the environment, family farmers, consumers, small and mid-sized businesses, people of color, and women here in the United States and around the world. We believe the United States should show leadership in the global economy by calling for a new generation of international trade and investment policies that will ensure that the benefits of globalization are broadly shared, that the environment is protected, and that ordinary citizens can understand and participate in forming the policies that affect their daily lives. Unfortunately, H.R. 2149 takes us backwards and not forwards. It provides no useful guidance on how to craft socially and environmentally responsible trade agreements, but instead encourages our negotiators to repeat the mistakes of the past, instead of learning from them. We urge you to vote against H.R. 2149 and to denounce this partisan and divisive approach to trade policy. Sincerely, Africa Action In addition, the following is the text in Spanish of the HSA's letter to the chair of the TNC: �Exigimos que los textos de negociaci�n del ALCA sean publicados! Nosotr@s, ciudadan@s y organizaciones sociales y civiles del continente Americano, hemos venido exigiendo que las negociaciones de los gobiernos de nuestros pa�ses en torno a un Acuerdo de Libre Comercio de las Am�ricas (ALCA), sean p�blicas y transparentes, y que sus t�rminos deben ser sometidos a la consideraci�n de los pueblos americanos. En la III Cumbre de las Am�ricas celebrada en abril, en la ciudad de Qu�bec, los jefes de estado declararon su voluntad de abrir el proceso de negociaciones y hacerlo transparente a la sociedad y a los parlamentos de los pa�ses del hemisferio. Se comprometieron a publicar los textos de la negociaci�n del ALCA. Sin embargo, dos meses despu�s, no han hecho efectivo su compromiso. Las organizaciones abajo firmantes, exigimos a los jefes de Estado que cumplan su compromiso y publiquen ya los textos.
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