Senate Passes Oman Trade Pact—Another Bad Deal for Workers

by James Parks, Jun 30, 2006

The fight to stop the Oman Free Trade Agreement (OFTA) moves to the House after the Senate approved the latest bad Bush administration trade deal yesterday on a vote of 60-34.

Five Republicans joined the majority of Democrats in voting against the deal. Eleven Democrats voted for the agreement. They include: Max Baucus (Mont.), Maria Cantwell (Wash.), Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), John Kerry (Mass.), Mary Landrieu (La.), Joseph Lieberman (Conn.), Ben Nelson (Neb.), Bill Nelson (Fla.), Barack Obama (Ill.), Mark Pryor (Ark.) and Ken Salazar (Colo.). Vermont’s Independent Sen. James Jeffords also voted in favor.

House Republicans wasted no time in trying to move the Oman deal. The House Ways and Means Committee yesterday approved implementing the bill for the trade deal on a straight party-line vote of 23–15, with all Democrats voting against the agreement. No date has been set for a House vote on the treaty.

In a letter to Congress, a coalition that includes the AFL-CIO and more than 350 labor, religious, consumer, farm and environmental groups, urged rejection of the trade deal:

OFTA would expand the failed model of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). This model has accelerated job loss and lowered living standards in the United States while exacerbating poverty and social disparities in the developing nations with which we trade.

There’s still time to stop this bad deal. Take action and call your representative through the Capitol switchboard (202-224-3121) and tell her or him to vote “No” on the Oman Free Trade Agreement.

Tell your representative:

• Oman bans labor unions and has been cited by the U.S. State Department for human trafficking and forced labor.
• The OFTA gives foreign corporations more rights than U.S. citizens because it allows any company incorporated in Oman to sue the U.S. government in a secret tribunal, demanding payment from our tax dollars, if the company feels that any U.S. government policy is restricting their ability to make profit.
• OFTA could undermine U.S. national security by promoting rights for foreign companies, including government-owned companies, to operate our
  sensitive infrastructure such as electricity grids, port operations and more.

To see how your senator voted on the Oman agreement, click here.

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