Documents relating to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP)
NAFTA, signed in 1993, was a major hoodwink pulled off by the Clinton administration on behalf of transnational corporations, which would never have been swallowed if it had been tried by a Republican Administration. Much of the resistance to NAFTA was appeased by a commitment to side agreements on labor and the environment. Thirteen years out, NAFTA has given us sufficient reasons to firmly oppose this model. It has resulted in worse labor conditions in all three signing countries, and was the beginning of this model which promotes a race to the bottom for workers to the benefit of the transnationals.
NAFTA has also been responsible for a massive exodus of small farmers from the Mexican countryside, an estimated two million. This has coincided with massive migration to the U.S., as the jobs created in Mexico under this new model have not been compelling, and workers have flocked to the United States in search of more opportunities. The provision to remove the final barriers for the free entry of corn and beans into Mexico which is scheduled for January 2008 promises to aggravate this situation further, and complete the destruction of small farming in Mexico. This impending threat has resulted in widespread demand in Mexico for a re-negotiation of the agriculture chapter of the agreement, but that seems not to be forthcoming.
NAFTA introduced concepts which have proven to have super-constitutional implications, such as the Chapter 11 provisions. Corporations may sue governments who pass restrictions which they view as impacting profits or potential profits. We have yet to witness the extent of how broad these changes may reach, but the examples we have to date are sufficiently troubling. (link to chapter 11 challenges)
NAFTA has served as the bottom line for negotiating subsequent agreements, with each one becoming more onerous for the signing countries. Chapters, such as the ones on Intellectual Property continue to grant more rights to pharmaceutical companies, making generic drug production more difficult, and results in less affordable medicines for people with little access to resources.
In yet another show of creativity, the United States has devised a new tactic for deepening the current scope of NAFTA without resort to public or legislative scrutiny. They have aptly labeled this the Security and Prosperity Partnership. Unfortunately, it appears to be focused on security and prosperity for the same corporate interests which were behind NAFTA in the first place. They have carefully crafted a structure of secret committees, which are meeting, inventing and changing policies that will impact all of our lives. But none of their deliberations are of public record. It will take a concerted effort on our part in order to understand and expose these activities. We are working with partners in Mexico and Canada, together with concerned Legislators to challenge this unconstitutional usurpation of power.
Click here for news about the NAFTA & SPP
NAFTA Analysis:
PRESS RELEASE
NEW ORLEANS PEOPLE'S SUMMIT www.summitneworleans.org
NEW ORLEANS (April 22, 2008) - The "Three Amigos" of North America showed once more that they will ignore the growing clamor to renegotiate NAFTA and will continue to push our countries in the same direction through the North American Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). With the fourth Summit shrouded in more secrecy, the People's Summit gathered to build knowledge and understanding of how what is being discussed inside impacts our daily lives. Over 30 local, national and international organizations and networks hosted the New Orleans People's Summit: Our Response to NAFTA Expansion April 20-22 in New Orleans, LA with participation from groups based in New Orleans, other parts of the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Quebec.
A proposal from North American civil society networks
Politicians throughout North America (Canada, Mexico and the United States) are beginning to recognize what the majority of citizens already know - the North American Free Trade Agreement's (NAFTA) promises have not been fulfilled and new policies are urgently needed. There is growing awareness that quality jobs have disappeared, only to be replaced by insecure and low remuneration employment, while income inequality has risen to almost unprecedented levels.
OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION for the: "Challenging the Empire and its SPP" Workshop
Manuel Pérez Rocha For the Alliance for Responsible Trade (ART)
Teach In "Integrate This", Ottawa. March, 2007The Security for Trade and Prosperity for Elites Partnership (STPEP):"How governments close their eyes on the roots of migration and instead build walls".
Canada's Part in the Global Integration of Labour Markets
At the September 2006, United Nations High-Level Dialogue on
International Migration and Development, the International Organization
for Migration (IOM) made a proposal for a set of measures to integrate
labour markets around the world, and ultimately make them yet more
flexible.
The ‘International Migration and Development Initiative' emerged from
discussions between the IOM- an inter-governmental organization
established in 1951- the private sector, the World Bank, and some
governments. Moving beyond the weakening of collective agreements,
and of unions in general, witnessed over the past twenty-five years, the
IMDI argues:A decade after the North American Free Trade Agreement came into effect, the governments of Canada, the United States and Mexico agreed to develop a new regulatory framework for North America. The "Security and Prosperity Partnership" is a process of negotiation concerning ongoing economic and political integration in North America. These discussions are being held behind closed doors. Corporate executives are the only ones who are being consulted on the priorities for further cooperation in North America, while the security interests of the United States shape the boundaries of the discussion.
Red Mexicana de Acción frente al Libre Comercio (RMALC)
Logran las redes civiles de Canadá, EU y México colocar en los medios el carácter cerrado e ilegitimo de la reunión ministerial del ASPAN en Ottawa éste 23 de febrero, y obligan a los grandes empresarios dar a conocer su agenda.
PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 21, 2007
Tri-national ministerial meeting to star Rice and Chertoff
Ministers of fear and war descend on Ottawa taking North America in the wrong direction(Ottawa, Montreal, Mexico City and Washington-February 21, 2007) - On February 23 US and Mexican visitors join Canadian Ministers to push forward the "Security and Prosperity Partnership" (SPP), a business-led NAFTA plus agenda. US Secretary of State Condi Rice and Security czar Chertoff will not only meet with their Mexican and Canadian counterparts in Ottawa, but will also consult with corporate CEOs, members of the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC). The Council's 10 Canadian members were appointed last summer by Prime Minister Harper and given privileged access to government Ministers to push their corporate vision for continental ‘integration'.
Three country analysis of NAFTA's impacts on workers.
A detailed report on NAFTA and issues of labor, environment, finance, agriculture, migration, intellectual property, and economy. Concludes with a discussion of alternative models for a peoples' globalization.
This HSA report documents the problematic aspects of NAFTA regarding economic health and democracy in Canada, the United States, and Mexico
Provides indicators of NAFTA's impacts in all three countries