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Pallone, Wowkanech Assail Central American Trade Pact That Would Cost New Jersey Jobs

May 16, 2005

Hamilton, NJ --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and New Jersey AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech today assailed a Bush administration agreement with Central America and called on the House of Representatives to reject the agreement when it comes up for a vote later this month. They were joined by Hamilton Mayor Glen Gilmore at the old American Standard bathroom fixture facility, which shut down in 2001 and relocated to Mexico, leaving 274 New Jersey workers without jobs.

The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) was approved by President Bush last May 28. The agreement would open trade with Central American countries that continue to maintain labor laws far below international standards. If approved by Congress, the agreement would force us to compete with countries whose wage, worker safety and pollution standards are dramatically lower than our own.

Pallone said that CAFTA comes on the heels of six other free trade agreements President Bush has pushed through Congress since coming to office in 2001. The New Jersey congressman has opposed almost all free trade agreements, including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that was approved 11 years ago and opened trade to both Mexico and Canada.

"The Bush administration wants Congress to rubberstamp a free trade agreement that will only further the downward economic spiral weve witnessed since the passage of NAFTA," Pallone said at todays press conference. "As my labor friends say, CAFTA is NAFTAs twin brother. Ill take it one step further and call it the evil twin brother. Its time we realize these agreements do not benefit our workers."

Pallone blamed the loss of 104,000 manufacturing jobs here in New Jersey over the last seven years primarily on free trade agreements. The numbers, which were tabulated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, represent more than a 20-percent cut in New Jerseys manufacturing base.

The New Jersey congressman also said the agreements have done nothing to eliminate the trade deficits that exist between the U.S. and its supposed free-trading partners. Since NAFTAs passage our trade deficit with Canada and Mexico has increased 1,200-percent from $9 billion in 1993 to $111 billion last year.

"If Congress signs off on this latest agreement its once again allowing companies to go overseas to exploit cheap labor so they can then turn around and send those products back into the U.S.," Pallone continued. "Free trade must be fair trade, and to date all these agreements have produced are drastic job losses and skyrocketing trade deficits."

The Republican leadership has vowed to bring CAFTA up for a vote before Memorial Day and would come before the House under fast track rules, which preclude any amendments from being offered.