Celebrate fair trade

With proposed military base closings, loss of manufacturing jobs, sprawl and changing patterns of land use, and increasing proliferation of big-box stores, issues of trade and economic development are on Mainers’ minds these days.

Maine has been on the front lines of international trade issues as we have coped with the effects of NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement). Now we’ll have to deal with CAFTA (the Central American Free Trade Agreement), which squeaked through the U.S. House of Representatives in late July by the narrowest of margins (217-215).

Those of us who opposed CAFTA were disheartened by its passage, and concerned about the pernicious effects its version of “free trade” will have on our state, our country, and the people of Central America. Yet despite our failure to prevent passage of this agreement, we have much to feel good about, especially here in Maine.

Two years ago it seemed that CAFTA, like NAFTA, would sail through Congress. But this changed as people educated themselves about the true costs of “free trade.” Here in Maine we created the Maine Citizens Trade Policy Commission, a unique body of legislators and public members, which has provided a democratic process for the public to have a voice in trade issues. The

MCTPC has held hearings around the state, unanimously opposed CAFTA, and urged our congressional delegation to oppose the agreement.

Thousands of other Mainers also contacted their senators and representatives, and in the end our entire delegation, both Republicans and Democrats, voted against CAFTA. This debate has changed the political reality of trade, and agreements like CAFTA will have a very, very difficult time moving forward in the future.

Meanwhile, here in Maine we are

at the center of a growing international movement for Fair Trade, not free trade. Around the world people are working for a system of economic relations in which: sweatshops are eliminated; workers earn a living wage; the rights of workers, producers and local communities are respected; labor, health and

safety, and environmental laws are

followed; and trade is conducted on a level playing field, truly free and fair.

The Bangor Clean Clothes Campaign, sponsored by Bangor-based PICA is an important part of the fair trade movement. When the Bangor City Council passed a Clean Clothes Resolution in 1997, and an Ethical Purchasing Policy in 1999, Bangor became the first city in the United States to go on record in support of a simple principle: all clothes available on local store shelves should be made according to established international standards of ethical production.

The latest addition to the Clean Clothes Campaign is the Bangor Clean Clothes Consortium, an alliance of Bangor-area public and private organizational purchasers and apparel vendors, who have joined together to create a larger market for sweatshop-free apparel.

So PICA is not just mourning the passage of CAFTA. We are also celebrating Bangor’s pioneering history and continued leadership in creating fair trade. We invite eastern Maine to join us at the second annual Fair Trade Fun Fest from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Bangor Waterfront.

Jonathan Falk is staff organizer

for PICA (Peace through Interamerican Community Action). He can be contacted at info@pica.ws.