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Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)

The Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is an expansion of NAFTA to five Central American nations (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua), and the Dominican Republic. It was signed May 28, 2004, and passed through the U.S. House of Representatives by one vote in the middle of the night by the U.S. Congress on July 27, 2005. Visit our CAFTA Damage Report to see Public Citizen's analysis of some of the most unfortunate "Yes" votes that helped pass CAFTA.

CAFTA is a piece in the FTAA jigsaw puzzle, and is based on the same failed neoliberal NAFTA model, which has caused the "race to the bottom" in labor and environmental standards and promotes privatization and deregulation of key public services.

For the latest updates on CAFTA, please see the relevant section of our blog, Eyes on Trade.

Take Action

[ACTION] The 1st CAFTA Environmental Attack: Mining Multinational v. Democracy - Sign the petition to tell President Obama to cut extreme investor rights out of U.S. trade policy once and for all!

CAFTA Background

	[REPORT]: NAFTA's Threat to Sovereignty and Democracy: The Record of NAFTA Chapter 11 Investor-State Cases - Lessons for CAFTA [February 2005]
	[REPORT]: Capitulo 11 Del Tlcan Y Los Litigios De Inversionistas Contra Estados [Octubre 2005] Spanish-version Report
	[TEXT]: Annotated CAFTA Chapter 10 Text
	[RESOLUTION]: League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Opposes CAFTA [7/19/04]

Pacific Rim Cayman LLC vs Republic of El Salvador

[PRESS RELEASE]: Pac Rim CAFTA Challenge of Salvadoran Environmental, Mining Safety Policies Given Go-Ahead by Tribunal
[ARTICLE]: CAFTA Attack on Green Policy: Did Obama Need More Reasons to Renegotiate Bush's NAFTA-Style Trade Deals?
[BACKGROUND]: Pacific Rim Mining Case [May 2010]
[ARTICLE]: Pacific Rim Subsidiary Commences CAFTA Arbitration Proceedings Against the Government of El Salvador [Marketwire]
[ARTICLE]: How Sustainable Is 'Socially Responsible' Mining? [The Nation, 02/17/10]
[ARTICLE]: Stop Private Firms Exploiting Poor States [Guardian.co.uk, 02/05/10]

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