Tell Congress: NO Unfair Trade Agreements. NO Fast Track.

November 21, 2009 Subject: Dear Member of Congress, I'm writing because I've heard that Congress is negotiating with the President on new bi-lateral trade agreements with Peru, Panama, Colombia and South Korea, as well as the issue of whether to re-authorize Fast Track. I strongly oppose the re-authorization of Fast Track. Fast Track is nothing more than a Presidential power grab that takes away Congress members' legitimate authority to evaluate and meaningfully amend trade agreements, and makes it harder for civil society groups to make their voices heard in the trade negotiation process. Congress should restore its constitutional role of oversight of trade by NOT renewing Fast Track. The Bush administration has already shown that it needs more oversight of its conduct, not less. I also oppose any new trade agreements unless the following issues are addressed to the benefit of human welfare and environmental protection: * There are no internationally recognized labor standards in these agreements, so they do nothing to address problems like sweatshops in Panama, child labor in Peru, or the murder of trade union activists in Colombia. * There are no environmental protection standards in the agreements. In fact, existing environmental protections could be eliminated under the trade agreements, because corporations can challenge environmental and other laws they claim are "barriers to trade." * The way they are currently written, the agreements will increase poverty in Panama, Peru, Colombia and South Korea. Small farmers will face a flood of cheap, US-government-subsidized farm goods. In many cases, small farmers will be driven off their farms and forced to migrate to urban areas or countries with more jobs, like the U.S. * Provisions to protect and extend the patent monopolies of US pharmaceutical companies will prevent the countries that sign these trade agreements from producing and providing low-cost, generic drugs, including life-saving medications like AIDS drugs. Without access to low-cost drugs, poor people will die unnecessarily. * The situation of Colombia is of special concern. Colombia is a country where mass human rights violations are taking place. More than 3,000 trade union activists have been killed in Colombia since 1985. There is also concern about what will happen to Colombian small farmers who lose their farms. Rather than migrating to cities or the US to find employment, those farmers may be pressured to go into coca cultivation or join the guerrillas or paramilitaries in order to survive. In the US, past free trade agreements like NAFTA have caused job loss, real wage stagnation, and staggering trade deficits. I urge Congress to institute a moratorium on free trade agreements with provisions like those described above and instead to introduce a new era of "fair trade," in which the values of human life and environmental sustainability take precedence over corporate profit. Sincerely, We will add your signature from the information you provide.		First Name* Last Name* Email* Street* Street 2 City* State/Province* Select a state Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Armed Forces (the) Americas Armed Forces Europe Armed Forces Pacific Alberta British Columbia Manitoba Newfoundland New Brunswick Nova Scotia Northwest Territories Nunavut Ontario Prince Edward Island Quebec Saskatchewan Yukon Territory Other Zip/Postal Code*