| April 20, 2005 BY
FACSIMILE As
Chairman of Business Roundtable's Trade and Investment Task Force and on behalf
of the 160 major U.S. companies represented by Business Roundtable, I am writing
to urge you to support the U.S. - Dominican Republic/Central America Free Trade
Agreement (DR-CAFTA). DR-CAFTA will strengthen the economic relationship
between the United States and Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, creating economic opportunities throughout
the region. From an economic standpoint, DR-CAFTA will create a market
for U.S. goods and services in Latin America that is second in size only to Mexico.
It will immediately reduce restrictions on 80 percent of U.S. industrial exports
and more than 50 percent of agricultural exports to the region, leveling the playing
field for U.S. farmers, workers and businesses. The International Trade Commission
estimates that U.S. exports would rise by $2.7 billion under DR-CAFTA to nearly
$20 billion. In addition, by lowering and reducing tariff and non-tariff
barriers between the DR-CAFTA countries and the U.S., this agreement will create
incentives for increased investment throughout the region. These benefits, combined
with its strategic location, will undoubtedly result in greater regional investment,
key for economic growth. Our neighbors need DR-CAFTA to remain competitive
in the global marketplace and to continue the economic and political progress
of the past few decades. Through unilateral preference programs such as the Caribbean
Basin Initiative, the majority of goods from DR-CAFTA countries already enter
the U.S. market duty-free. These programs created numerous economic opportunities
and played an important role in the economic transformation of Central America.
However, increased competition from Asia in key sectors threatens to eliminate
much of that progress. DR-CAFTA will build upon those preference programs to ensure
continued economic growth, creating economic opportunities that are vital in nurturing
the democratic progress of the past decade in Central America. DR-CAFTA
will also lock in reforms to labor and environmental laws in the region through
enforcement mechanisms that have significant financial penalties for countries
that fail to enforce their own laws. In the case of labor, this is significant
when one considers that an International Labor Organization assessment found the
domestic laws to be in close compliance with international core labor standards.
The agreement will ensure the DR-CAFTA countries enforce these laws and it provides
assistance to build the capacity to improve the enforcement of labor and environmental
laws. Without question, DR-CAFTA will play an important role in improving labor
and environmental conditions in the region. More important, by creating
economic opportunities and promoting domestic reforms, DR-CAFTA will be an important
tool in ensuring that the region continues on its path of growth and stability.
DR-CAFTA is needed to prevent a return to the violent political and social conditions
of the 1970's and 1980's. DR-CAFTA will be one of the most important trade
votes in Congress in recent history. It will determine whether the United States
continues to encourage economic growth and political stability in Central America
and the Dominican Republic. It will also send an important signal as to whether
the United States is committed to a leadership role in advancing free trade in
the Western Hemisphere and worldwide. On behalf of Business Roundtable and
its 160 member companies, I urge you to vote for economic growth and regional
security and to support DR-CAFTA. Sincerely, Harold McGraw III
Chairman,
President & CEO, The McGraw-Hill Companies
Chairman, Business Roundtable International
Trade and Investment Task Force |
