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Bush's Agenda In Latin America
by Winter Casey
President Bush spent the past week traveling throughout Latin America to discuss areas of mutual interest and concern with leaders there. Topics such as trade and immigration were recurring themes during stops in Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Uruguay.
On Monday, Bush met with Guatemalan President Oscar Berger. Bush said improving education is an important goal for both countries. He noted that more than 40 percent of the population of Guatemala is less than 15 years old.
"President Berger and I believe that [the Central America Free Trade Agreement] can spread opportunity, provide jobs and help lift people out of poverty," Bush said. He signed CAFTA in 2005. The United States has been implementing the agreement on a rolling basis as countries make sufficient progress to complete their commitments.
Trade is important because "I also believe most citizens in Guatemala would rather find meaningful jobs at home instead of having to travel to a foreign land to work," Bush said. Berger noted that Guatemala can have the "American dream in our own countries by promoting education, by improving infrastructure" and by implementing CAFTA.
Bush said he is working with Congress to pass his immigration plan that includes a guest-worker program. "I think there is pretty widespread consensus that there ought to be a temporary-worker plan that says you can come legally to the United States to do a job Americans are not doing for a period of time," he said.
Bush said it was difficult to determine what to do with those who have been in the United States for more than a limited time. "The idea of giving someone automatic citizenship is just not acceptable," he said.
Bush hopes the House and Senate can finish immigration legislation by this fall.
Berger said the Guatemalan people would have preferred a more clear and positive response from Bush, such as "no more deportations," but he is optimistic on the subject.
Responding to a question, Bush said he signed legislation to modernize the border in order to stop potential terrorists, arms and "coyotes," people who smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States, from entering or leaving the country. People are still welcome to come to the United States "under the law," he said.
On Sunday, Bush met with President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia. He said the United States is Colombia's largest trading partner and free trade is beneficial to both countries. Uribe also said his country wants a trade agreement with Canada and is "about to close negotiations with three Central American countries."
Responding to a question about Uribe's comments, a Canadian Embassy official said "Canada is considering how it might address intellectual property in the context of a potential free trade agreement with Colombia, but these considerations are still in early stages."
Following a meeting Saturday with Bush, President Tabare Vazquez of Uruguay said the two leaders discussed the need to increase trade exchanges between the two countries, as well efforts to "increase the scientific, technological, cultural exchange with our brother country and see how together we may have a better standard of living for our people."
In discussing Uruguay's exports, Bush said: "I think many people in my country don't know that Uruguay is the leading exporter of software in South America. It means that one of the great assets of this country is the brain power of the country."
On Tuesday, Bush headed to Mexico to meet with President Felipe Calderon. In discussing migration to the United States, Calderon said "Mexicans lose in each migrant the best of our people ... people that leave Mexico because they don't find the opportunities here in order to pull through with their lives." Calderon also highlighted the importance of keeping a safe border.
Back in Washington at a congressional briefing Tuesday, representatives from Mexico, Bolivia and South Africa criticized the past trade policies of the United States. The Interfaith Working Group on Trade and Investment and Reps. Walter Jones, R-N.C., and Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, sponsored the daylong event.
"The U.S. should adhere to moral and ethical principles of economic justice and fairness in developing and advancing U.S. international trade treaties, agreements and investment policies," Kaptur said in a statement.
Business Groups Seek U.S.-South Korea Trade
U.S. business groups on Tuesday sent a letter to House and Senate leaders urging support for a free-trade agreement between the United States and South Korea.
The Business Roundtable, National Association of Manufacturers, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and U.S.-Korea Business Council signed the letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.
"We remain focused on the broad benefits of a comprehensive agreement and its importance to U.S. workers, consumers and businesses, including manufacturers, service providers and farmers," the letter said. "A strong agreement with South Korea that addresses tariff and non-tariff barriers will give the United States a preferential position in the world's seventh-largest economy -- one in which our exports grew over 17 percent last year -- and improve our country's ability to compete in the dynamic Northeast Asia regional economy."
Consumer Group Blasts TV Specification Plan
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has accused the Digital Video Broadcasting Project of caving to the pressure of U.S. movie and television companies to work on new technical specifications for televisions aimed at fighting piracy.
The studios have "turned to creating technical standards that, when backed by law, are likely to restrict consumers' existing rights and threaten the future of technological innovation," EFF argued.
The DVB Project describes itself as "an alliance of about 250-300 companies, originally of European origin but now worldwide. Its objective is to agree [on] specifications for digital media delivery systems, including broadcasting. It is an open, private-sector initiative with an annual membership fee." The project's specifications are used in Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe, according to EFF.
In a report that EFF released Tuesday, the group said the specification would be one where "major content providers get a veto over innovation and consumers face draconian digital-rights management restrictions on the use of TV content." DRM refers to technologies that control how content is used.
EFF said the DVB project has been working since 2003 on the plan. EFF said the plan would mandate "severe" home-recording and copying limitations on consumers, impose controls on where consumers can watch programs, dictate how consumers share shows and prevent compatibility among devices.
The DVB Project did not immediately respond to questions about EFF's concerns.
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