Fast Track Battle in Congress will Determine Future of Free Trade Agreements

Fast Track Battle in Congress will Determine Future of Free Trade Agreements
Interview by Between The Lines' Scott Harris.

Congress will soon consider legislation that would grant President Bush authority to negotiate future international trade deals with minimal debate and no chance for legislators to propose corrective amendments.

The so-called "  Fast Track" bill, now dubbed "Trade Promotion Authority" by the Bush administration, was defeated by a progressive coalition led by the AFL-CIO when president Clinton tried to win Congressional approval in 1997. Then, as now, a broad coalition of groups that include family farmers, environmentalists and students joined with labor to oppose Fast Track. If approved, the Fast Track process would be applied to the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas treaty or FTAA. FTAA would expand many of the provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement to every nation in the hemisphere except for Cuba. FTAA, like NAFTA, has been criticized for the power it surrenders to corporations, leading to the erosion of democracy and national sovereignty.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, who discusses the campaign to defeat Fast Track and why her group opposes the expansion of free trade agreements without provisions protecting labor rights and the environment (A RealAudio Version of this interview may be found At http://www.btlonline.org)
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Contact Public Citizen by calling (202) 546-4996 or visit their Web site at: http://www.tradewatch.org


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