Annotations for Subject-headings: International Trade

Even now, before NAFTA's implementation, business people in Texas are actively trading with their colleagues south of the border, and if the trade agreement is going to work, it will be up to individual entrepreneurs to lead the way. It's a trail already being blazed by many Hispanic-owned businesses, such as John Montoya's. He's the president of World Dallas International, a trading services company, and for him, the rewards of the agreement are quite clear.

My own feeling, my own personal feeling is that if we work at it, that we'll be able to get a treaty that's good for the country and good for Mexico.

That's Raul Yzaguirre, president of the National Council of La Raza, commenting on the present status of the North American Free Trade Agreement. At this point, congressional approval of NAFTA is still in question. Mexico and Mexico's president, Carlos Salinas de Gortari, have a lot at stake in NAFTA's becoming a reality, as do many Hispanic entrepreneurs in this country. In Dallas, Latino business and civic leaders recently met with the Mexican president trying to counter the arguments from a certain Texas politician that NAFTA will mean major job losses. Brian Shields prepared this report.

Dallas billionaire, Ross Perot is spending millions of dollars to go on national television to stir up opposition to NAFTA, but members of the Dallas Hispanic Chamber believe the treaty will be beneficial for their businesses. During a recent visit to Dallas, Mexican president, Carlos Salinas, asserted there's no time to waste.

I have been asked, "Why NAFTA?" Because this is the only way how we will be able to compete in the world in which we live. "Why now?" Because we are late, late when other regions in the world are getting together to increase the efficiency and competitive capacity.

To my business, it would probably help it tremendously. I've been in business now for 12 years, doing business back and forth through Mexico, and we have had quite a bit of product going back and forth. The prices generally will then be lowered on some of the items that we now are paying some duties in.

Opposition to NAFTA in the United States centers on concerns that higher paying jobs north of the border will disappear to be replaced by very low wage employment in Mexico. Such arguments are coming not only from supporters of Ross Perot, but also from grassroots Hispanic groups such as San Antonio's Fuerza Unida, if you're a loss of American manufacturing jobs that now employ Latinos here. However, President Salinas insists the treaty will have the opposite effect.

NAFTA is also a wage increase agreement, because with increases in productivity, we will be able to increase wages in Mexico more than they have been growing in the past four years.

Between Ross Perot and opponents of free trade in and out of the Congress, right now, the agreement appears to be in trouble, but Jorge Haynes with Laredo's International Bank of Commerce insists the opportunity is too important to allow it to slip away.

If we should decide not to adopt NAFTA, which is something I don't want to think about, I think we will be going backwards in our relationship with Mexico rather than forwards.

This is news from Latino USA. I'm Maria Martin. The future of the North American Free Trade Agreement remains in question. Since the US district judge ruled the Clinton administration may not present NAFTA for approval in Congress until its impact on the environment is determined.

It caught some people by surprise.

Judge Charles Richey's ruling was a victory for environmentalists opposed to NAFTA and a disappointing setback to its supporters like Abel Guerra of the National Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

We feel NAFTA provides many environmental safeguards, which are now nonexistent. The defeat of NAFTA would actually harm the environment more than these environmental groups know.

Opponents of the present trade agreements say the court ruling validates their long-standing concerns about the treaty. Labor organizer Victor Munoz of the AFL-CIO says he's hopeful the recent court decision will lead to negotiating an entirely new trade agreement.

If it could be renegotiated completely, I think it would give us a very good opportunity to create a much better trade agreement than the one we have right now.

NAFTA will bring more jobs and better jobs.

Labor Secretary Robert Reich launched the latest effort by the Clinton administration to push the North American Free Trade Agreement through Congress. While a coalition of Hispanic organizations and elected officials urged the president to adopt other measures to, in their words, ensure Latino support for NAFTA.

I have to be able to tell my constituents that it's a good agreement.

California Congressman Esteban Torres joined other Latino office holders and organizations such as the National Council of La Raza to announce their support for NAFTA is contingent on the adoption of provisions for dislocated workers or regional development bank, and fair opportunities for minority-owned businesses. Without this, Torres NAFTA doesn't really address the needs of Latinos.

And certainly without the enthusiastic support of Latinos and their elected officials, NAFTA has little, if any chance, for passage. It's going to be a very tough battle in Congress, and every vote counts.

Well, the good news right now for the administration is that it's not hemorrhaging or losing as many votes as it was say about a month ago. The bad news is that it's not picking up very many votes either.

As the countdown continues for a mid-November congressional vote on NAFTA, the Clinton administration is stepping up its campaign to promote free trade. The President is trying to convince those still undecided members of Congress, including those in the Hispanic caucus, to get on board. NPR reporter Richard Gonzalez has been following the free-trade debate.

What they're trying to do is convince Congressman Esteban Torres that they can meet his demands for a North America Development Bank. This would be a bank, funds for which would be used for border and environmental clean-up and for communities away from the border who might be impacted by the North America Free Trade agreement. The problem is that these negotiations are very fragile, but it could also explode and come to nothing.There's a possibility that Congressman Torres, Congressman Xavier Becerra, Congresswoman Roybal-Allard and maybe two or three others might come over to the Pro-NAFTA side. But it's still too early to say. There's the deal in the works, but a deal has not been finalized.

Some of the Puerto Rican and Cuban American Congress members are also still undecided regarding the free trade agreement.

Border Patrol spokesperson, Doug Mosher says that technically Operation Blockade ended on November 2nd, but that the enhanced patrols would continue indefinitely. Border Patrol spokesperson, Doug Mosher says that technically Operation Blockade ended on November 2nd, but that the enhanced patrols would continue indefinitely.

We still have enhanced manpower at all the major crossing points in a 20-mile area between roughly Ysleta, Texas and Sunland Park, New Mexico. So the strategy still continues.

Catholic bishops in El Paso say that Juarez, Mexico and Las Cruces, New Mexico recently called for a moratorium on Operation Blockade, to give people in border communities in both countries time to adjust to the impact of the operation on their economy, said the Bishops.But Doug Mosher of the Border Patrol says the number of apprehensions at the border are up by 80% since Operation Blockade began. That's a success, he says, and there are no plans for a moratorium.

It's a permanent initiative and it's something we're going to be doing from here on out. So, that's the word we're getting at, is it no longer is a special operation, it's a permanent activity.

Doug Mosher of the Border Patrol in El Paso.

The new President of the United Farm Workers is declaring the first week of November a time to remember the late farm worker leader Cesar Chavez. The date was chosen to coincide with the Mexican holiday of El Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. UFW head Arturo Rodriguez was in the nation's capital recently where he spoke with reporters about that and other issues facing farm workers and his union. From Washington, Christian Gonzalez has more.

The new President of the United Farm Workers Union, Arturo Rodriguez, was in Washington to address the American Federation of Teachers. Rodriguez, who was named to succeed Cesar Chavez after the farm labor leader's death last April, says most of the UFW efforts are now geared towards keeping alive the union's boycott of California table grapes and promoting their campaign against the use of pesticides.

Well, all of us desperately miss Cesar, but we know that the most important thing we could do for Cesar is, as well as what we can do for the farm workers, is to continue that work in the best way possible. So we're in addition bringing on a lot of new staff, training them so they can actually provide those benefits and services needed for the workers. And do everything we can to escalate the organizing among the workers.

Stunned by the loss of the leader, the UFW received another hard blow when they lost an appeal of a 10 million dollars lawsuit against the Bruce Church Lettuce company. The union was again ordered to pay 2.9 million dollars. The union appealed that decision to a Los Angeles Superior Court. Rodriguez said he's confident that the union will win the appeal.

So as of yet, we've not made one payment to the company. We're going to do everything possible to avoid making any payments to the company, because that case has major significance to us. First of all, that's where Cesar died, during the time that he was testifying there. And in essence, we should have never been in that trial to begin with. So we're going to do everything we possibly can to fight the company and to avoid paying any type of judgment there.

In the five months since Chavez's death, many communities have renamed streets, parks and schools after the farm labor leader. In his travels across the country Rodriguez says he's seen a renewed interest of issues affecting farm workers.

We see a tremendous revival going on in the great boycott wherever we're at. Right now, I mean, one has been all these commemorations that have taken place and special dedications that have taken place throughout the United States and in Canada and so forth. But also there's been a recommitment on the part of people. For example, within the labor community, we've seen a tremendous response there from labor throughout the nation and in Canada.

And as far as the North American Free Trade Agreement, the UFW President Rodriguez says the union has not taken an official position. However, he says his personal feeling is that it will not benefit either US or Mexican farm workers. For Latino USA, I'm Christian Gonzalez in Washington.

We're not here to argue for NAFTA. We're here to find out what NAFTA does do about illegal immigration.

But I think the argument is NAFTA.

The seemingly never-ending debate surrounding the North American Free Trade Agreement continues as Congress gears up for a mid-November vote. At a congressional hearing chaired by Democrat Romano Mazzoli of Kentucky, the treaty's critics claim NAFTA doesn't do enough to limit unlawful immigration. Patricia Guadalupe has more.

Mazzoli and other members of his immigration subcommittee are not convinced that the treaty will be able to control unlawful entry into the United States by providing jobs in Mexico as those who support the treaty have argued. However, there are those who believe that some in Congress are using the NAFTA debate as an excuse to jump on the anti-immigration bandwagon. Among them as immigration policy analyst, Cecilia Munoz of the National Council of La Raza.

Again, NAFTA is the best policy proposal we've seen in decades, which has the chance of controlling long-term migration. What those folks are engaged in is short-term strategies to try and bring attention to themselves on the immigration control issue there's a lot of that going around.

The latest headcount by the bipartisan leadership shows proponents of NAFTA need at least 48 additional votes for final passage. For Latino USA, I'm Patricia Guadalupe in Washington.

This is news from Latino USA. I'm Maria Martin. In an effort to gain Latino support for the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Clinton administration has thrown its support behind a border development finance project developed by Latinos. It's called the North American Development Bank, or NADBank. From Washington DC, Patricia Guadalupe has more.

The North American Development Bank is the brainchild of the Latino Consensus, a group of over 20 Hispanic organizations supporting NAFTA. Based on legislation introduced by Democratic Congressman Esteban Torres, NADBank would finance border development projects and provide economic support in communities anywhere in the United States affected by NAFTA. Both the United States and Mexico would make available from $2 to $3 billion in investment funds and provide added monies for environmental cleanup and training for workers. Congressman Torres said that without those resources, he would not have voted for NAFTA.

People fear that if the agreement is passed, American companies will close and workers will be left jobless. And for this reason, I believe it was necessary to address the legitimate fears that some communities and workers may be adversely affected. The North American Development Bank, known as NADBank, boldly addresses these fears in the most efficient and in the best cost effective manner.

Congressman Torres added that 14 undecided members of Congress, including four Hispanics, will support NAFTA, now that the financing mechanism is taken care of. The Latino Consensus says that it is intensifying its grassroots campaign around the country in support of NAFTA. For Latino USA, I'm Patricia Guadalupe in Washington.

A poll conducted by the San Antonio-based Southwest Voter Research Institute, one of the members of the Latino Consensus, finds a slight majority of registered Latino surveyed supporting NAFTA, but a large percentage remains undecided regarding the merits of free trade.

The North American Free Trade Agreement is now official. Patricia Guadalupe attended the signing ceremonies in Washington.

[Background--natural sound--music] Over 100 supporters, including members of Congress and business and labor leaders came to see President Clinton sign the hotly contested treaty. This pact creates the world's largest market with over 300 million potential consumers. President Bill Clinton.

We are on the verge of a global economic expansion that is sparked by the fact that the United States at this critical moment decided that we would compete, not retreat.

Latino analysts says the Hispanic community, particularly Hispanic-owned businesses, will benefit greatly from NAFTA and the President's emphasis on global expansion. Among those analysts is Raul Yzaguirre of the National Council of La Raza.

If we get our act together, if we do some very specific things, I think we can benefit by increased business and increased employment.

Yzaguirre added that the specific thing he wants to see is Hispanics uniting to make sure that the community now receives the funds it was promised to develop projects along the border with Mexico through the North American Development Bank. This unity was not evident during the vote in Congress, however, with almost all Mexican American representatives voting for NAFTA , and Puerto Rican and Cuban American members voting against it citing fear of loss of jobs and Mexico's friendly relations with Cuba.

Some speculate this has created divisions within the Hispanic caucus, and will affect work on other pieces of legislation. Democratic representative, Kika de la Garza of Texas disagrees.

From this day, like any other piece of legislation, you finish one piece of legislation, you go on to the other. I don't see any connection. I don't see any problems for the President or in the Congress.

The North American Free Trade Agreement will be enacted on January 1st, gradually eliminating tariffs and other trade barriers over the next 15 years. For Latino USA, I'm Patricia Guadalupe in Washington.