From: harelb@MATH.CORNELL.EDU (Harel Barzilai)
Newsgroups: alt.activism,misc.headlines,talk.politics.misc
Subject: Catholic Conference on "Free Trade"
Date: 1 Aug 92 02:39:45 GMT
Organization: misc.activism.progressive on UseNet ; ACTIV-L@UMCVMB

[From PeaceNet's trade.library]

 "...there are collective and qualitative needs which 
cannot be satisfied by market mechanisms. There are important 
human needs which escape its logic" -- Pope John Paul II

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    "as Pope John Paul II pointed out in Laborem Exercens, the Church
    has consistently stressed `the principle of the priority of labor
    over capital.' In any trade agreement capital should not be given
    an advantage over labor.  Application of this principle, for
    example, to the mobility of capital, which far outstrips that of
    labor, requires full and open discussion of effective safeguards
    for workers."
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Topic 22        Religious Leaders On Free Trade Response  1 of  2 
kmander 
Library of trade-related documents.      2:48 pm  Jul 29, 1992 
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The following is a statement by Reverend Monsignor Robert N. 
Lynch, General Secretary, U.S. Catholic Conference. 


June 4, 1991 
     The Honorable Carla Hills U.S. Trade Representative 600 
     Seventeenth Street, N.W.  Washington, D.C. 20506 

Dear Ambassador Hills: 

As General Secretary of the US Catholic Conference, the public 
policy agency of the US Catholic bishops, I am writing to you 
about the current efforts to negotiate a free trade agreement 
(FTA) with Mexico. 

While primarily an issue of trade policy, this issue has profound 
human consequences and moral dimensions, affecting, as it will, 
the lives of many people and communities in both countries. As 
pastors and citizens, we believe that the economic choices of our 
two nations should be guided by a priority concern_ for the poor 
in both lands and by a firm commitment to the dignity of work and 
the rights of workers. These reflections are grounded in 
traditional Catholic teaching on economic justice. 

This teaching, which stresses the dignity and rights of the human 
person and the principle that market forces must be guided by 
moral choices, has been emphasized most recently by Pope John Paul 
II in his encyclical Centesimus Annus. RWhile it would appear 
that...the free market is the most efficient instrument for 
utilizing resources and effectively responding to needs,S he 
[exploiting?]        [like hunger?homelessness?health care?]
["..most efficient..for..effectively responding to greeds"? --HB]

writes, "...there are collective and qualitative needs which 
cannot be satisfied by market mechanisms. There are important 
human needs which escape its logic. There are goods which by their 
very nature cannot and must not be bought or sold.S 

Therefore, the US Catholic Conference seeks to encourage the 
negotiation of a trade agreement which will help our two countries 
achieve several goals: 

% enhance the life and dignity of our two peoples, overcome 
economic injustice, reduce disparities in our economies, and build 
bridges of commerce and sustainable economic development between 
our country and Mexico; 

% offer decent work for just wages and in decent conditions; 

% address the serious problems of unemployment and underemployment 
in both societies; 

% stabilize immigration flow by discouraging illegal immigration 
and offering more employment opportunities; 

% respect the right of workers to organize and exercise their 
rights. 

We urge that these questions of economic and social justice 
receive priority attention in the negotiation, debate, and 
decisions on the North American Free Trade Agreement. They are not 
side issues or peripheral matters, but rather concerns that will 
decide whether such an agreement will contribute to the hopes of 
its advocates or to the fears of its opponents. The moral issue is 
not the process used to reach an agreement, but the content of the 
agreement, determining whether it will advance the common good of 
both our peoples or benefit the few at the expense of the many. 

The increasing economic integration of the United States, Canada, 
and Mexico holds potential benefits for the people of all three 
countries. The negotiation of a just trade agreement between the 
United States and Mexico may well contribute to improvement in the 
quality of life in all three countries and could possibly provide 
a model for similar agreements with other developing countries. We 
feel that applying the principles of Catholic social teaching 
could help to shape such an agreement. 

We believe, as Pope Paul VI said in Populorum Progressio, that 
Rthe rule of free trade, taken by itself, is no longer able to 
govern international relations ... Freedom of trade is fair only 
if it is subject to the demands of social justice.S Pope John Paul 
II's emphasis in Centesimus Annus on the strength and limits of 
the market underscore this principle. Economic choices must seek 
to advance human dignity and the common good. 

These negotiations must inevitably deal with more than simply 
regulating trade between two countries; they also treat of 
development, investment, debt, and other vital matters. Trade 
should support the kind of development which reduces poverty arid 
injustice and increases self-reliance and broad participation in 
economic decision making on the part of the people of each 
country. Because the United States and Mexico are at very 
different stages of economic development, there is a danger of 
increasing the dependency of Mexico on the United States through 
trade arrangements that do not lead to mutually beneficial 
results. 

The Presidents of both countries have stated that easing barriers 
to trade and investment is at the top of the negotiating agenda. 
Increased trade and investment can doubtless be beneficial if they 
serve the genuine development needs of the countries and do not 
exacerbate inequality or injustice. In particular, as Pope John 
Paul II pointed out in Laborem Exercens, the Church has 
consistently stressed Rthe principle of the priority of labor over 
capital.S In any trade agreement capital should not be given an 
advantage over labor.  Application of this principle, for example, 
to the mobility of capital, which far outstrips that of labor, 
requires full and open discussion of effective safeguards for 
workers. 

The purpose of economic exchange should be to improve the living 
standards of the people involved. This is particularly true of the 
situation of workers, especially in international exchanges. Both 
the United States and Mexico have experienced declines in real 
wages and living standards over the past decade, along with 
increasing gaps between the rich and the poor. One major result of 
any trade agreement should be improved living conditions, safety 
and health provisions, and labor standards.  Unemployment and 
underemployment are also serious problems in both countries; and 
workers affected by the treaty in both countries should be 
provided opportunities for retraining and relocation. The trade 
agreement should unambiguously maintain , the US position on 
international labor rights, currently embodied in the 1988 Omnibus 
Trade and Competitiveness Act. 

As pastors in the United States we must be especially concerned 
about the possible loss of employment in our own urban and rural 
areas.  Our 1986 pastoral letter on Catholic social teaching and 
the U.S. economy called the nation's attention to the terrible 
human costs of the loss of our country's heavy manufacturing 
industries in the past few decades. The ravages of long-term 
unemployment are still evident in many of our communities, where 
factories have closed and moved abroad in search of cheaper 
labor. 

Since a new trade agreement with Mexico may create a shift of jobs 
from one country to the other and thus may deprive at least some 
workers and some communities of jobs, it is essential that 
planning begin now to help the workers and their families cope 
with the emotional and financial strains of such dislocations. The 
nation must also make a commitment, as part of the process, that 
workers and families adversely affected by any new trade agreement 
be provided adequate income from unemployment insurance, as well 
as access to social services, retraining, and other assistance 
until they are able to work again. We also want to ensure that the 
impact of any new agreement on cities and other communities on the 
border, as well as on family farms and rural communities and on 
the quality of US food imports, is carefully assessed. 

It is equally clear, as both our own Conference and the Mexican 
bishops have pointed out, that immigration will be affected by any 
agreement. The Church has long been concerned with the migration 
resulting from the inability of people to provide for themselves 
and their families in their home countries. For the vast majority 
of such migrants, the few who are educated or the many who are 
poor, it is the lack of opportunity to perform as fully productive 
members of their own societies that provides the impetus for 
migrating. In the long run a trade agreement could positively 
affect the problem of migration. 

This is the situation for many in Mexico; the lack of economic 
opportunity because of stagnant development drives them over the 
border. Within this framework, it is urgent to address the 
coordination of US and multilateral development questions, so that 
as the Mexican economy grows, educational opportunities, health 
care, clean water, sanitation, and adequate housing also 
increase. 

Several important environmental questions also need to be 
addressed in any agreement: reducing air and water pollution, 
arresting depletion and degradation of vital natural resources, 
improved handling of hazardous materials, disposing of toxic 
wastes, sharing of environmentally beneficial technologies, and 
providing technical assistance to Mexico to help in enforcing 
existing environmental laws. 

In view of the history of implementing the US-Canada Free Trade 
Agreement, we are convinced that an effective mechanism for 
monitoring such an agreement, and especially for resolving 
disputes arising under it, is also a fundamental requirement. 

In preparation for the Europe 1992 project, the Commission of the 
European Communities has adopted a Community Charter of the 
Fundamental Social Rights of Workers, which contains many 
provisions that would be relevant to a US-Mexico or broader 
regional trade agreement. We recommend that these sections of the 
Charter be seriously reviewed and adapted for possible inclusion 
in any trade agreement with Mexico or other developing country. 

We are aware of the contentious arguments surrounding this 
agreement. However, given its importance for all the people 
concerned, we urge that the procedures adopted for both 
negotiation and approval of the US-Mexico FTA ensure that the 
moral and human considerations we have outlined are an integral 
part of the process. Our basic criterion for this agreement is 
whether it enhances or diminishes the lives, dignity, and rights 
of our two peoples -- especially of the poor and workers. 

We believe that if the concerns we have outlined can be addressed, 
a just trade agreement will contribute to sustainable economic 
development and greater economic justice in both the United States 
and Mexico. 

Sincerely yours, 

Reverend Monsignor Robert N. Lynch General Secretary 
NCCB/US 
Newsgroups: alt.activism,talk.politics.misc