IIRSA: Integration Custom-Made for International Markets
The project for Integration of South American Regional Infrastructure (IIRSA, by its initials in Spanish), is swiftly but silently moving forward. […]
Free Trade
Anti-FTAA Meeting in Cuba
The Fifth Hemispheric Encounter against the FTAA concluded in Havana, Cuba on April 15th. Close to 400 delegates from movements around the Americas debated how to unify forces and defeat the Free Trade Area of […]
Ecuador: Trade Talks Stall, Protests Continue
Ecuador and the U.S. suspended trade talks after a fruitless week of negotiations in Washington. Agricultural issues, intellectual property and Ecuador’s new hydrocarbon law (which would redistribute oil profits) kept the two countires from reaching […]
U.S.-Peru FTA in Jeopardy
A trade agreement between the United States and Peru could be rejected in Congress because of Peru’s weak labor record and the agreement’s lack of labor provisions. Like CAFTA (which passed by only two votes […]
President-elect Chooses Free Trade Over Democracy
Oscar Arias, Costa Rica’s president-elect, has vowed to do everything in his power to push CAFTA through Congress despite widespread public opposition. "You should not have the least doubt that in this, we will not […]
Anti-CAFTA Protests Rock El Salvador
Thousands of trade unionists, farmers, students and workers are protesting in El Salvador against their government’s decision to commence CAFTA with the U.S. El Salvador is the only Central American country thus far to officially […]
Mexico’s Unfair Trade With Europe
Like NAFTA, the Mexico-European Union free trade agreement has failed to delivered promised "benefits" to Mexicans. "The Europeans frequently say that their agreement with Mexico focuses on the fields of democracy and human rights. But […]
AFTA Could Undermine Lawsuit Against Chevron
The Andean Free Trade Agreement could undermine a class action lawsuit filed by 30,000 Ecuadorians against Chevron for oil contamination in the Amazon that led to massive environmental destruction and widespread health problems. Senators Patrick […]
CAFTA Influences Costa Rican Election
Costa Rican electoral officials began a recount on Tuesday to determine the winner of a presidential race in which the two candidates were separated by a mere .3 percent with most of the polling places […]
Bush Using Implementation of CAFTA Agreement to Expand Corporate Rights in Central America
What does tightening intellectual property laws have to do with "free" trade? That’s the question many people in Central American and the Dominican Republic are asking as the United States Trade Representative continues to insist on dramatic changes to constitutional laws in the six countries involved in the US-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (otherwise known as CAFTA).