Washington D.C., May 5, 2005 / 22:00 pm
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) are urging Congress to evaluate the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) based on moral criteria.
CAFTA is a trade and investment agreement negotiated between the United States and six Central American and Caribbean countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic.
President George W. Bush is expected to ask Congress approve CAFTA in May.
The U.S. bishops and CRS stated that they do not officially support or oppose CAFTA, but they recognize that certain moral questions about the impact of trade agreements on people’s lives are generally not part of debate in developing agreements like this one.