More lies

As the Senate Finance Committee approved the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), the AP reported that the Bush Administration has suppressed a study they paid for that concluded "countries proposed for free-trade status have poor working environments and fail to protect workers' rights."

This is no suprise to those of us who have been following the "Free Trade" movement over the last few years. What is a surprise is that they Labor Department would even commission a study. They did, though, and didn't like what they heard.

Behind the scenes, the Labor Department began as early as spring 2004 to block public release of the country-by-country reports.

The department instructed its contractor to remove the reports from its Web site, ordered it to retrieve paper copies before they became public, banned release of new information from the reports, and even told the contractor it could not discuss the studies with outsiders.

The department has now worked out a deal with the contractor to make the reports public, provided there is no mention of the federal agency or government funding.

At the same time, the administration began a pre-emptive campaign to undercut the study's conclusions.

Used as talking points by trade-pact supporters, a Labor Department document accuses the contractor of writing a report filled with "unsubstantiated" statements and "biased attacks, not the facts."

I mentioned last month that CAFTA looks to be as bad for working folks--in the US and abroad--as its ancestor NAFTA was.

The so-called "side agreements" to NAFTA, which covered those areas, have been an unmitigated disaster for the decade plus since the treaty's signing. They are even more pathetic under CAFTA.

CAFTA limits penalties for failure to enforce labor laws to $15 million – while sanctions for breaches of commercial provisions are unlimited. Fines will be given back to the country that fails to enforce its own labor laws.

Ironically, I also said then, "It's interesting, though, to see that even the biggest boosters of CAFTA don't mention any safeguarding of labor or environmental rights." Now, I think we know why.

We'll return to the CAFTA question soon, as it comes before the full Senate, but in the meantime, I'd like to give a shoutout to Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-No Clue):

"Step by step, we're making good progress and building momentum for its successful passage," said U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman, who has led the effort to sway undecided lawmakers.

He picked up a key vote Wednesday when Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., a Finance Committee member, announced his support after receiving a pledge from Portman of increased spending to protect Central American workers and farmers.

Portman, in a letter to Bingaman, said the administration was committed to spending $160 million over four years to promote labor and environmental laws, as well as $150 million over five years to help subsistence farmers in three Central American countries who might be displaced by an increase in U.S. agriculture imports.

'Cause it's always smart to believe the Bush Administration, Jeff, you win the Treaties of Mass Destruction award. Which of your contributors has a stake in this?