Following passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement in July 2005, the Bush administration began steamrolling several smaller free trade agreements through Congress, many of which are more detrimental to workers than CAFTA.

The most recent bad trade deal was the Oman Free Trade Agreement, signed Jan. 19, which must be approved by Congress. Global union leaders say Oman's government does not respect internationally recognized workers' rights, such as the freedom to form unions.

The largest of Bush’s proposed trade agreements, the Andean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA), like CAFTA, does not include enforceable protections for workers’ right to form a union or other core human rights. The Bush administration could send AFTA to Congress in coming months, with a vote by spring.

As drafted, AFTA would extend to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru the disastrous job loss and environmental damage caused by 11 years of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). U.S. workers lost more than 1 million jobs as a result of growing trade deficits with NAFTA countries, Canada and Mexico, with real wages in Mexico falling by 25 percent since NAFTA was implemented 11 years ago, according to the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute. Bolivia is participating in the negotiations as an observer and may later choose to join AFTA.

Most alarming: AFTA offers a free trade agreement with Colombia, one of the worst violators of human rights and workers’ rights in the world, according to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions’ 2005 Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights. Some 200 unionists were killed in 2004 alone in Colombia, making it the most dangerous country in the world for workers seeking to exercise their freedom to form unions. More than 3,000 union members have been killed in Colombia since 1985 and only five people have been indicted in these cases. 

Other key trade agreements that may be completed soon include deals with Panama and Thailand. Congress is expected to vote shortly on a free trade agreement with Bahrain, and the Bush administration recently has completed negotiations with Oman.