Statement of Congressman John D. Dingell, Ranking Member
Committee on Energy and Commerce

COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, TRADE, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION HEARING ON
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC-CENTRAL AMERICA-U.S.
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

April 28, 2005

Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing on an issue of great concern to many of our constituents: the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

I am pleased that you were able at the eleventh hour to convince a witness from the United States Trade Representative’s office to join us. For many years, I have found them to be quite helpful to this Committee when evaluating matters of trade. It is nice to see them back, and I look forward to many more appearances in the future.

My friends, this is a bad Agreement. It is bad for workers; it is bad for the environment; and it is bad for farmers. We need not guess how this Agreement will harm our constituents, for this Agreement is merely the “Son of NAFTA.”

If you are pleased with how NAFTA has affected your workers and your farmers, then you should support this Agreement. If you believe that labor standards and environmental quality have dramatically improved in Mexico, as we were told they would, then you should support this Agreement.

Evaluate carefully the claims which will be made about CAFTA. For example, we will hear today that CAFTA will open important markets for U.S. goods. Sound familiar? As we learned from NAFTA, if labor standards are not improved as part of these Agreements, few workers in these markets will be able to afford our goods.

We make cars and trucks in my home state of Michigan. American auto manufacturers are currently putting over $1,400 of health care costs into each American-made car. Yet the average Nicaraguan worker earns only about $2,300 a year. Yes, that’s for an entire year.

While the rising health care burden on American manufacturing is an important issue for another day, it illustrates the absurdity of these claims. How many cars can we reasonably expect to sell in new markets under those conditions?

I urge all my colleagues to examine this Agreement closely, as I will continue to do. As you peel back the layers of this onion, I am confident you will be struck by an overwhelming feeling of deja vu and a strong feeling of frustration at promises that cannot be kept.

I have rarely seen a more appropriate occasion for the old adage: If you fool me once, shame on you. If you fool me twice, shame on me. I urge my colleagues not to be fooled by the “Son of NAFTA.”

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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(Contact: Jodi Seth, 202-225-3641)