MOFGA Policy on Trade Liberalization or "Free Trade" in Agriculture

(Why should MOFGA object to CAFTA, the FTAA, NAFTA, and similar international trade agreements?)

This policy proposal is being submitted by the MOFGA- El Salvador Sistering Committee - a group committed to solidarity between MOFGA in Maine and CCR/CORDES¹ in El Salvador. At this time, farmers in El Salvador and in other Central and South American countries are protesting the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement. These proposed agreements would extend the principles of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to the countries of Central America, and the countries of South and Central America, respectively.

In our global economy, trade and trade-related policies impact everyone. Currently, the dominant trend in international trade is trade liberalization, also known as "free trade." Ultimately, trade liberalization is a movement toward less government interference in the trade and commerce between countries. But the current process toward liberalization is heavily influenced by both the choices of domestic governments and the decisions of bodies governing world trade - such as the World Trade Organization (WTO).

To date, trade liberalization policies have led to declining farm prices and income for small-scale farmers both in the United States and abroad.

Liberalized trade policies are also linked to increased scale in farm production, increased competition and displacement of small-scale farmers in developing countries. These trends negatively impact sustainable farming practices.

Regulations and standards concerning organic labeling, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and environmental protection may be overruled by international tribunals created through trade agreements such as CAFTA, the FTAA, bilateral trade and WTO agreements.

MOFGA supports the goal of standing in solidarity with farmers and farm organizations across the United States and around the world in calling for a more democratic process to determine the parameters governing both international trade and the domestic policies that promote international trade in agriculture.

To that end, we support:

1. trade policies that enhance the ability of small-scale and sustainable farmers to make a living wage;
2. diversity in farm production and in local cultures as well as the right and ability of local communities to set standards for the products they produce and consume;
3. socially and economically responsible trade in agriculture, including Fair Trade that ensures farmers living wages for the fruits of their labor;
4. the efforts of the Commission established by the Maine Trade, Jobs and Democracy Act (LD1815) in the last legislative session. This Commission, composed of our legislators and citizens, is examining the impacts of "Free Trade" Agreements to our economy, jobs, and democracy and will specifically examine the impacts to farms in Maine.

Further we:

a. will empower one of our members, if one so chooses, to be an official representative to the newly forming Maine Fair Trade Coalition as an advocate for the interests of small-scale, organic, and sustainable farmers in international trade issues;
b. stand in Solidarity with farmers in El Salvador and in other parts of the developing world to reject the FTAA and CAFTA in their current forms as destructive to the lives and livelihoods of family farmers world-wide;
c. seek to provide education to the public about trade issues and their impact to small-scale farmers world-wide in order to empower the democratic process.