U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and Ambassador Mark Langdale made statements implying that if the people of Costa Rica reject the trade agreement, the Bush administration might withdraw preferred trade status from Costa Rica. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wrote letters making it clear that the two issues are not related.

Costa Rica is the only one of the seven signers that has not ratified the deal, which is modeled after the seriously flawed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

According to a study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), NAFTA has failed workers in Mexico, Canada and the United States:

• In each nation, while workers’ productivity grew, workers’ salaries remained stagnant or dropped and the wealth of those at the top increased significantly

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