U.S. Bishops: Time for moral trade agreements

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December 2005

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U.S. Bishops: Time for moral trade agreements

U.S. Bishops: time for moral trade agreements
WASHINGTON (December 1, 2005) – In a private Oval Office meeting today Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington today urged President Bush to ensure that trade negotiations taking place this month in Hong Kong protect the interests of the poor around the world.

“The fight against poverty around the world is vital to establishing solidarity among peoples and nations,” said McCarrick after the meeting. “Global trade rules, when framed from the perspective of the ‘least among us,’ can lead to more equitable prosperity and stability in a world where growing inequality and instability are very often dangerous realities.”

McCarrick’s meeting with the president comes days before the sixth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization, slated for December 13 - 18 in Hong Kong. The current Doha Round of negotiations, begun in Doha, Qatar, in 2001, was expected to promote human development in poor countries through global trade, something critics claim is not currently happening.

Specifically, McCarrick urged the president to work to “substantially reduce, if not eliminate, trade-distorting federal subsidies while protecting small and medium-sized farms in the United States.” He comments echoed an October 21, 2005, letter to the President from Bishop William S. Skylstad, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urging the President to “go the extra mile on behalf of the United States in seeking a just outcome of the Doha Round for the world’s poor.”

McCarrick's visit with the president came just a few weeks after a recent statement by the bishops called for "moral trade agreements." The chairman of the bishops’ International Policy Committee in November offered a Catholic perspective on a pending free trade agreement, suggesting that the United States and several Andean nations then meeting on a hemispheric free trade agreement could simultaneously promote human dignity and fair and sustainable development.

The latest round of negotiations on a free trade agreement between the United States, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru ended in November without consensus on such issues as agriculture, intellectual property rights, and labor protections.

In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman, Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando highlighted the Catholic Church’s teaching on the economy, human rights, human dignity, and the dignity of work.

“We believe that changes responding to these concerns flow from a moral concern to defend the rights and dignity of the many people, especially in the Andean region, who live in poverty; but they will also greatly enhance the prospect that the Free Trade Agreement will promote fair and sustainable development in their countries and our own, which is in the long-term economic and security interest of the United States,” Bishop Wenski said.

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The full text of Cardinal McCarrick’s remarks to the White House media follows:

“I welcomed the opportunity to meet with President Bush today to discuss the importance of international trade in the fight against global poverty and hunger. I reiterated the words of Bishop William S. Skylstad, President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, who, in his letter of October 21, urged the President to ‘fight not just for the interests of the people of the United States in current [trade] negotiations, but to protect the interests of the poor around the world who have too little access to the negotiating table.’

“Just a few days ago, our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, issued a call to those participating in next month’s meeting of World Trade Organization members in Hong Kong to focus on the needs of the poor and the disadvantaged. The Pope expressed his hope that ‘a sense of responsibility and solidarity with the most disadvantaged will prevail, so that narrow interests and the logic of power will be set aside.’

“President Bush has proposed major changes in US agricultural policies that are important for establishing a more just global trading system. This is a courageous and necessary step in the right direction. The Church looks forward to working with the President and others to ensure that meaningful reforms are reflected in the next Farm Bill that substantially reduce, if not eliminate, trade-distorting federal subsidies while protecting small and medium-sized farms in the United States.”

“The fight against poverty around the world is vital to establishing solidarity among peoples and nations. Global trade rules, when framed from the perspective of the ‘least among us,’ can lead to more equity, prosperity and stability in a world where growing inequality and instability are very often dangerous realities.

“At the same time, trade alone is not enough in the fight against poverty. Our U.S. Bishops’ Catholic Campaign Against Global Poverty addresses trade, aid and debt relief. Poor countries need the support of more generous foreign aid and broader debt relief so that they can invest in education and health care for their people and in building their capacity for trade. On this World AIDS Day, we welcome the President’s leadership in promoting more foreign aid and debt relief for poor countries, including funding for the fight against HIV-AIDS, and urge him to build on this work and to secure the necessary resources.”

“There remain significant challenges in reaching a just outcome in the current round of trade negotiations. The Administration’s proposals for Hong Kong head in the right direction, but the Conference hopes that the United States can help guarantee that increased trade benefits those whose needs are the greatest. In this regard, we urge creation of a flexible and equitable trade environment for poor countries through robust special and differential treatment. I echo the call of Bishop Skylstad: ‘I urge [the President] to go the extra mile on behalf of the United States in seeking a just outcome of the Doha Round for the world’s poor.’”

WASHINGTON (November 22, 2005) – The chairman of the bishops’ International Policy Committee Monday offered a Catholic perspective on a pending free trade agreement, suggesting that the United States and several Andean nations could simultaneously promote human dignity and fair and sustainable development.

The latest round of negotiations on a free trade agreement between the United States, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru ended last week without consensus on such issues as agriculture, intellectual property rights, and labor protections.

In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman released today, Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando highlighted the Catholic Church’s teaching on the economy, human rights, human dignity, and the dignity of work.

The full text of Bishop Wenski’s letter follows:

Dear Ambassador Portman,

As the United States engages in the final stage of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement with the Andean nations of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops wishes to share our perspective on several issues that are under negotiation.

These concerns are rooted in the Church’s teaching on the role of the economy, as well as in the perspectives of church leaders and other partners in the countries involved. Pope John Paul II cautioned in a 1999 statement when addressing the role of the Church in the one America, “If globalization is ruled merely by the laws of the market applied to suit the powerful, the consequences cannot but be negative.” The Pope went on cite “unfair competition which puts the poor nations in a situation of ever increasing inferiority.” (Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia in America, 1999, no. 20)

We also call to your attention a series of statements on Free Trade Agreements made by Catholic bishops from the United States and across the Hemisphere, including joint statements that have been the fruit of extensive exchanges between and among episcopal conferences. (See excerpts from various statements attached). Following a meeting on the moral dimension of trade integration, bishops from 19 countries in the hemisphere issued a joint communiqué in which they stated: “We believe trade policies must be fashioned in ways that stimulate economic growth while at the same time giving priority to integral human development that builds solidarity, improves the common good of all, and in an essential way reduces poverty, exclusion and hunger. From our experience as pastors among our people, we have both hopes and concerns regarding trade agreements.” (Joint Communiqué of Catholic Bishops participating in the “Ecumenical Meeting on Integration in the Americas”, September 8, 2005).

Agriculture. A major concern focuses on the agricultural sector and those who live in rural areas. Our fellow bishops and other partners with whom we work have expressed grave fears about the vulnerability of small agricultural producers when confronted with competition by US agricultural products that enjoy a notable advantage due to US governmental policies.

As a consequence of this vulnerability, it is important for Andean countries to be able to protect themselves by, for example, exempting sensitive products from tariff elimination and large quota increases. Certain crops are critical to local and national food security and are produced by small-scale farmers. Also, it would be important for the poorer countries with large amounts of rural poor to avail themselves of safeguards that will protect to some degree their vulnerable populations in situations of import surges, whether these result from large volumes or extremely low prices.

Taking steps to mitigate the considerable risks to and to stabilize the livelihood of small agricultural producers throughout the region is consistent with the US goal of reducing the illegal production of coca and drug trafficking in the Andean region, as well as US goals to reduce incentives for undocumented migration to the United States. The US has a strong security interest in a stable, prosperous rural sector in the Andean region.

Furthermore, because the trade agreement holds risks as well as opportunities for small agricultural producers, principally in the Andean region, we would welcome US initiatives that dedicate more foreign assistance to this sector to help them make the transition to a more open, global market environment, and to benefit directly from trade.

Intellectual Property Rights. We are also concerned about intellectual property rights provisions with regard to pharmaceuticals. The Church locates intellectual property rights within the broader framework of the common good and believes these rights should be balanced with the needs of the poor. We are concerned about the US proposal to extend new patent rights to already patented chemical products if new uses are discovered for them. We are also concerned about the request for periods of “data exclusivity” in which generic drug manufacturers would be prevented from marketing their products. Both proposals may well increase the price of, and therefore access to, essential medicines.

In addition, the bishops of the Andean region minister extensively among indigenous groups. Out of respect for their cultural heritage and in view of their economic development, we hope that the US will give careful attention and deference to the proposal made by the Andean governments that requires commercial agreements to honor the patrimony of these indigenous communities, and to share the benefits of any commerce with groups in which traditional knowledge originated.

Labor Protections. The Church’s teaching on the dignity of work is clear. We support the protection of basic worker rights and of ensuring that trade agreements offer opportunities to strengthen compliance with internationally-agreed worker standards.

In closing, we believe that changes responding to these concerns flow from a moral concern to defend the rights and dignity of the many people, especially in the Andean region, who live in poverty; but they will also greatly enhance the prospect that the Free Trade Agreement will promote fair and sustainable development in their countries and our own, which is in the long-term economic and security interest of the United States. The US Bishops’ Conference stands ready to work with you to make increased trade work for all, especially the poor and disadvantaged.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Bishop Thomas G. Wenski
Bishop of Orlando
Chairman, Committee on International Policy

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