Outside Insight

Recently U.S. people and congress have been told by Bush that a Free Trade Agreement with Colombia is urgent and necessary for Americans. He used usual fear tactics and said that this agreement is necessary for our National Security. Some of the words he used:

• “urgent”
• “stake on national security is too high”
• “stakes are high in South America”
• Colombia our “best friend” in the South America.

Really? If we have an issue with Venezuela for supposedly “undermining democracy”, why are we friends with the Colombian government - which has a reputation for being corrupt to the highest levels and also has a shocking human rights violations record. Our government obviously is not out to defend democracy - they are simply taking care of our greed.

The first time I heard Bush’s talk I was a bit shocked - as I usually am when I hear Bush speak. Another “under the sleeve” plan, I thought. Soon enough South Americans, expect Colombia, will also be our “enemies.” U.S. politicians have a thing for having enemies - either that or they are truly paranoid, like guilty minds usually are. Like with war, having enemies give us excuses for taking actions against others. It works perfectly if they have something we want, ie: Iraq.

It is also weird that we (a rich developed country) would want, so urgently, to make profits by selling our products to poor nations where many people live on under a $1 per day. Is there not something bizarrely greedy and just wrong about that?
Some natural consequences of these kinds of trade agreements are
1. Americanization of these countries, which if done purposely is called “colonization”: with more demand for U.S. products and U.S. lifestyles their own cultures decline and eventually disappear - and
2. Increase of immigration to, guess where, the U.S.!

One could say that the U.S. becomes the motherland when a country’s infrastructure, laws and politics are controlled by our corporations and when U.S. economy is growing thanks to poor people who in exchange are getting nothing but a permanent position in society - forever poor.

Just as there is not much for US citizens in Free Trades due to the exportation of jobs to places where labor can be nearly “Free”, there’s also not much for Colombians or anyone on the other side of agreements where fair wages or labor laws won’t exists. The winners are corporations - everyone else from both sides of the agreement loses. Those outside U.S. borders might even faced destitution and various danger as part of such agreements. Needless to say, rich countries love agreements with smaller countries because they can make smaller governments (especially if highly corrupt) accept agreements that let us do things inside their country that we would not be able to do inside our own borders because we have laws against them!

Unfortunately lots of people from other countries and the U.S. do support Free Trade Agreements. It just sounds so good, it sounds so “Free” and who doesn’t love freedom. Governments have a talent for fooling our hopes with language in very subtle ways. FTAs are also “agreements” with the U.S. and it makes people around the world feel like they have a chance of becoming more “developed” just by rubbing shoulders with the U.S., even though it should be clear that the greater gain is for U.S. (meaning U.S. corporations), not them (ok, maybe their politicians). The average person around the world doesn’t know all that Free Trade Agreements really do. When I hear the term “Free Trade” I think “Free Labor” - I guess some could say that it’s profitable for businesses and therefore good for U.S. economy but does that seem right?
Slavery is definitely a word we recognize for what it is and most can agree is wrong but modern society has invented a series of ‘creative’ ways to get very similar results and call it something different - something glamourous even so that we feel good about supporting it, especially when it sounds like it’s the opposite of slavery. Americans are freedom lovers so why would we not support Free Trade?! Let’s not forget that not everything that shines is gold.

As far as commerce goes, I like “Fair Trade” much better - which most people know very little about. Unlike Free Trade, Fair Trade is concerned with equal opportunities, healthy competition and labor and human rights. Fair Trade encourages small businesses to be self-sufficient and independent and allows for their success - it allows small businesses to make more profits than they would through Free Trade which then makes a difference in the development of entire communities.
Free Trade tends to offer laborers dead-end low-wage temporary sweat-shop sort of jobs without right to union - it brings big corporations to dominate a local market and through unequal competition brings small local businesses to an end - bringing an entire country to its dependency on foreign big corporation.
Fair Trade is really more about heathy commerce and being socially responsible through better business practices. Free Trade is more along the lines of exploitation and doing business with cause-we-can-get-away-with-it ethics.