City of Madison - File #: 01484

• File #: 01484
• Version: 1
• Name: Establishing that the City of Madison opposes the expansion of NAFTA by opposing DR-CAFTA AND FTAA.
• Type: Resolution
• Status: Passed
• File created: 6/15/2005
• In control: COMMON COUNCIL
• On agenda: 6/21/2005
• Final action: 6/21/2005
• Enactment #: RES-05-00542
• Title: Establishing that the City of Madison opposes the expansion of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by opposing the ratification of the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA or CAFTA), now pending in the U.S. Congress, as well as the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), currently under negotiation, as they undermine the sovereignty of the Madison Common Council to legislate in the best interest of the residents of the city of Madison and because NAFTA, the model for these agreements, has proven a human rights and humanitarian disaster for working people, both in the United States and in Mexico.
• Sponsors: Brian Benford, Austin W. King

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
6/21/2005	1	COMMON COUNCIL	Adopt	Pass
6/15/2005	1	Council Office	Fiscal Note Required / Approval
6/15/2005	1	Finance Dept/Approval Group	Approved Fiscal Note By The Comptroller's Office
6/15/2005	1	Council Office	RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL TO ADOPT UNDER SUSPENSION OF RULES 2.04, 2.05, 2.24, & 2.25 - MISC. ITEMS

Fiscal Note
No expenditure is required.
Title
Establishing that the City of Madison opposes the expansion of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by opposing the ratification of the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA or CAFTA), now pending in the U.S. Congress, as well as the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), currently under negotiation, as they undermine the sovereignty of the Madison Common Council to legislate in the best interest of the residents of the city of Madison and because NAFTA, the model for these agreements, has proven a human rights and humanitarian disaster for working people, both in the United States and in Mexico.
Body
WHEREAS, the Madison Common Council supports expanding international trade and investment as means to achieving economic and social benefits for Madison, for Wisconsin and for the United States, as well as for our international trading partners; and

WHEREAS, the United States government is negotiating expansion of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with 34 countries in the western hemisphere to create a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) forming a single set of trade and investment rules among member countries; and

WHEREAS, as a step toward the creation of the FTAA, the United States government has already negotiated a Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) that will be submitted to Congress for approval in June 2005; and

WHEREAS, the state of Wisconsin has already suffered the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs under NAFTA, the model for CAFTA and the FTAA; and

WHEREAS, in the decade since NAFTA took effect, the state of Wisconsin has lost nearly half of its family dairy farms and over $200 million in beef exports; and

WHEREAS, without setting enforceable standards for minimum labor and environmental protections, CAFTA and the FTAA could escalate this race to the bottom in which nations compete for foreign investment by offer...