Santa Cruz opposes FTAA

Santa Cruz, CA - On Tuesday, March 13, the Santa Cruz City Council voted to officially oppose the Free Trade Area of the Americas, becoming perhaps the first municipality in the country to do so.
In a 6-1 vote, the city council passed a resolution calling for the U.S. Trade Representative to withdraw from any further negotiations on the proposed FTAA. The council was urged to act by the Santa Cruz Coalition Against the FTAA, an ad-hoc group of local activists. Mayor Tim Fitzmaurice, a Green Party member, agreed to introduce the resolution to the rest of the council.
The FTAA will be the focus of the April 20-22 Summit of the Americas meeting in Quebec City, where the 34 \"democratically elected\" heads of state from North, South and Central America and the Carribean will meet. The FTAA combines elements of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization and would encompass the entire Western Hemisphere, excluding Cuba.
Santa Cruz joins Vancouver, Canada in officially opposing the FTAA. While local resolutions don\'t have a direct impact on the status of the FTAA negotiations, they do draw public scrutiny to what has otherwise been a secretive process aided by a mainstream media blackout.
\"Local resolutions like this one have been instrumental in defeating other destructive trade agreements such as the Multilateral Agreement on Investment,\" states the resolution.
The Santa Cruz Coalition Against the FTAA is currently organizing affinity groups that will participate in non-violent direct action in Quebec and at national borders during the Summit of Americas on April 20-22. It is also organizing a direct action training camp, which will take place on the UC Santa Cruz campus Saturday, March 31. Visit http://www.stopftaa.org/sc for more information.
Other local groups opposing the FTAA include the Santa Cruz Green Party, the Santa Cruz Direct Action Network Against Corporate Globalization, the Student Media Activist Coalition, the Santa Cruz Coalition to Free Mumia and All Political Prisoners, People Power, and the Santa Cruz chapter of the Alliance for Democracy.
The text of the Santa Cruz resolution:
Whereas, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is an expansion of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); and
Whereas, the FTAA was initiated in 1994 by the 34 countries of North and South America (excluding Cuba) and would create the world\'s largest free market zone - affecting 650 million people and $9 trillion in capital; and
Whereas, NAFTA\'s Chapter 11 Investor to State Lawsuits, which will be included and strengthened in the FTAA, directly threaten the sovereignty of local and state governments; and
Whereas, this sort of corporate power would diminish the efficacy of local environmental laws and regulations; and
Whereas, the FTAA will undermine the social services that are essential for a thriving community; and
Whereas, the strict intellectual property laws within the FTAA will have devastating impacts on the people living in the global south; and
Whereas, local businesses and workers would be harmed by the increasing powers granted to large corporations; and
Whereas, local resolutions like this one have been instrumental in defeating other destructive trade agreements such as the Multilateral Agreement on Investment.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Santa Cruz that it hereby:
1. opposes the FTAA;
2. petitions the Federal government to refuse to sign any new trade agreement and investment agreements, such as the proposed FTAA, that include investor-state provisions similar to the ones included in NAFTA;
3. urges the U.S. Trade Representative to withdraw any further negotiation on the FTAA;
4. requests the U.S. Trade Representative to release proposals for the agreement and written submissions to the nine negotiating groups of the FTAA;
5. requests the release of a comprehensive list of the representatives to the FTAA negotiating groups from all 34 countries involved; and
6. urges the State Legislature to adopt stronger sovereignty safeguards in implementing legislation for the FTAA and other trade agreements, now and in the future; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Mayor is authorized to communicate the City\'s position to the U.S. Trade Representative, State Legislature and Congressional committees with trade jurisdiction.