Australian Trade Deal and it's Impacts

[Joanne98]

U.S. House Votes to Outsource Cowboys, Family Farmers With Australia Trade Deal

WASHINGTON - July 14 - The U.S. House of Representatives voted today to approve the "U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement" which poses a threat to the livelihoods of thousands of U.S. family farmers and ranchers by immediately removing tariffs on some agricultural and livestock commodities and phasing out tariffs on others. The agreement would also undermine legislation to allow the reimportation of medicines into the U.S., and would raise the costs of medicines for Australian consumers by one-third. The House voted 314 to 109 to approve the measure. A Senate vote is expected before the August recess.

Passage of the Australia agreement may be the high point for the Administration's trade agenda this year, since a vote on the "Central America Free Trade Agreement" would almost certainly be defeated were it to come up for a vote this year, according to many trade policy observers and congressional offices. Plans for a hemisphere-wide "Free Trade Area of the Americas" seem doomed for the near future.

"While the Administration has attempted to portray the dangers of the Australia agreement as minimal, they are in fact far-reaching and major," said Larry Weiss, Executive Director of Citizens Trade Campaign. "This deal will actually block consumer access to more affordable medicines. It is molded from the failed NAFTA model, and the Senate should reject it."

"This agreement is bad for dairy farmers - and in fact all U.S. family farmers," said George Naylor, Iowa farmer and President of the National Family Farm Coalition. "By voting for this deal, the House is foreclosing on the future of family farms in America."



This trade deal stops re-importation of drugs from Canada. Also notice how the US Congress can raise drugs in Australia by one/third using GATT. I'm sure the Aussies are going to be real happy about that. That is if they can figure out how it happened.


http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/0715-01.htm

[hadrons]

1. sadly Mr. George Naylor, many of your members will still vote 4 those guys

[Pobeka]

2. Kick.

This is fascinating, in a disturbing way.

Thanks for posting this!