U.S.-Colombian trade pact unfair, Mainers testify

SOUTH PORTLAND – The proposed U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement was condemned by nearly all the Mainers who testified at a hearing Thursday night before the Maine Citizen Trade Policy Commission.

Calling the deal an aid to U.S. investors and oil executives and citing unfair competition from Colombian manufacturers who allegedly operate with disregard for minimum labor standards, the crowd encouraged the commission and the federal government to take a stand against the agreement.

The commission held the hearing to gauge public response to the trade agreement and to learn more about it from University of Maine and Colby College economics professors and Democratic U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud, who serves as co-chair of the House Trade Working Group.

Michaud said multinational corporations, not U.S. workers, would benefit from the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which would remove tariffs on more than 80 percent of U.S. exports of consumer and industrial products to Colombia, including beef, soy products, fruits and vegetables.

He said he was concerned about growing violence in Colombia toward labor union workers and compared the Colombia deal to the existing North American Free Trade Agreement and the Peru Free Trade Agreement, which he labeled “failed policies.”

“These trade agreements have devastated our manufacturing base. You can tell by looking at the 2nd District,” Michaud said. He called for the development of a new trade model and said he has submitted legislation that would examine the overall economic impact of all U.S. trade deals.

At the end of the hearing, the commission deliberated briefly, then voted unanimously against the U.S.-Colombia trade deal. The panel will express its opposition in a letter to Gov. John Baldacci, members of Maine’s congressional delegation, and the U.S. Trade Representative.

While the nonpartisan commission has no involvement in negotiating international trade agreements, its members inform elected officials of the legal and economic impacts of trade agreements on state and local laws, working conditions and the business environment.

“The exclusionary process by which this trade agreement was developed is what concerns us,” said the commission chair, state Sen. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston. “We are the first state in the country to have created a citizens’ commission through which the public can speak and work to have a voice in these deliberations.”

About 30 people filled a large room in the South Portland Community Center to share their opinions with the 22-member panel. Many expressed concern about how the federal government forms its trade agreements.

Victor Skorapa Jr., 84, a retired physician from Harpswell, said he was very concerned about how such agreements influence public health policy.

“I hope that wherever appropriate the commission will emphasize this fundamental message: when international trade treaties involve conflicts between private commercial interests and the health and welfare of citizens, public welfare priorities should prevail,” Skorapa said.

The commission is required to hold at least two public hearings a year on the subject of international trade. The events are held at various locations throughout the state. The next hearing is expected in the fall.