<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class=""><i class="">Full report from the Comité Fronterizo de Obreras / Border Committee of Women Workers is attached...</i></div><div class=""><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
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<!--StartFragment--><b class=""><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">23</span><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">
Years of NAFTA: <br class="">
A View from Inside the Maquiladoras</span></b><!--EndFragment-->
</p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;text-align:center;background:white"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">EXECUTIVE SUMMARY</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Times;" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;text-align:center;background:white"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">“We’ve seen that
NAFTA is a failed model, a model that just doesn’t work. NAFTA should be renegotiated to ensure just
treatment for workers and full enforcement of the labor laws of each country.”</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class=""><br class="">
— <i class="">Comité Fronterizo de Obreras</i></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Times;" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">The economic impact of NAFTA has been a contentious subject,
with the agreement’s supporters and opponents alike marshaling an array of
statistics to bolster conflicting arguments, while some observers dispute that
any given phenomenon can be reliably attributed to NAFTA itself.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">Now, a strikingly fresh view of the subject is offered by
the Comité Fronterizo de Obreras (CFO – Border Committee of Women Workers), a
grassroots Mexican workers organization headquartered in Piedras Negras,
Coahuila. “23 Years of NAFTA: A View from Inside the Maquiladoras,” is the newly
edited copy of the first report developed by maquiladora workers themselves,
offering an insider view of changing factory life in the maquiladoras, or
foreign-owned assembly plants that line the Mexico-U.S. border. <o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;text-align:center;background:white"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">_______________________________________<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a name="introd" class=""></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial" class="">Twenty-three years ago, a new struggle began
when the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was put into effect in
January 1994. This long road has shown us that NAFTA, an economic model based
on neoliberal recipes, failed. The workers of the maquiladoras in northern
Mexico have witnessed the deception of the deal as it did not fulfil its
promise of more and better jobs. At the same time, we have been affected by
this agreement that benefits a few global corporations and government officials
while our communities remain in precarious conditions and the quality of life
in Mexico continues to deteriorate.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial" class=""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial" class="">In the case of workers in the export maquiladora industry on the
northern border of Mexico, NAFTA has been negative for the majority because it
has generated many socioeconomic problems. The following data illustrates the
failure of NAFTA:<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial" class=""> </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-font-family:
Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" class="">•<span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class=""> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:
107%;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial" class="">NAFTA failed to create new
jobs across the country.</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:
107%;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial" class=""> More than 50 percent of the
border workforce indicated in 2008 that they migrated from various parts of the
interior of the country to the border to obtain work in the maquiladoras. The
deal was also unable to keep up with the 1,200,000-young people entering the
labor market each year. In addition, since 2001, one-third of the manufacturing
jobs created by NAFTA have disappeared as US corporations are moving to China,
where wages are even lower.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-font-family:
Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" class="">•<span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class=""> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:
107%;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial" class="">The economic situation has
worsened and poverty reaches even those with employment.</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial" class=""> In 2008, 62% of maquila workers rated their economic situation worse
compared to 1993 – that is before free trade began. Even worse, between 1993
and 2013, per capita income in Mexico increased at an average of 1.2 percent
annually, which is much slower than other Latin American countries.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-font-family:
Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" class="">•<span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class=""> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:
107%;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial" class="">Wages have stagnated.</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial" class=""> In the maquiladoras, wages are almost 40 percent lower than in other
industries. More than two incomes are needed to afford a household's basic
needs since wages do not keep up with inflation. In fact, in 1993, the average
Mexican worker in the manufacturing industry earned 18 percent of the hourly
pay of the average American worker. By 2012, this percentage had fallen to 16
percent.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-font-family:
Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" class="">•<span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class=""> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:
107%;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial" class="">Labor and environmental laws
continue to be violated by foreign corporations</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial" class="">. Maquila workers are well familiarized with how global companies and
Mexico have bypassed their labor laws to increase their profits at workers' cost.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-font-family:
Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" class="">•<span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class=""> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:
107%;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial" class="">NAFTA is a factor of forced
economic migration.</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:107%;
font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial" class=""> Under NAFTA, Mexico's annual
migration to the United States doubled from 370,000 in 1993 (before NAFTA) to
770,000 in 2000. The agreement displaced between one and two million Mexican
farmers and hundreds of thousands of Mexicans from all economic sectors
migrated to the United States. However, after 2007 when the Mexican immigrant
population reached approximately 12.8 million in the U.S., the return of
Mexican immigrants to Mexico increased. This is due to the increase in
deportations and the economic crisis of the neighboring country. First, we have
to leave our country in search of a better life and then we are expelled us
from the destination country.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial" class="">While foreign investment and trade grew in the region from $290 billion
in 1993 to over $ 1.1 trillion in 2016, NAFTA has not translated into more and
better jobs. On the contrary, it has meant economic instability,
overexploitation and abuses that are experienced in these factories daily. Even
worse, NAFTA has given unprecedented privileges to investors who have plundered
our communities, including our environment.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial" class="">The cost of free trade is too large for Mexican workers who deserve
dignity and respect of our labor rights.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">The CFO reached
the following conclusions:<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-6.75pt;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in;
background:white"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol;" class="">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">We do not support NAFTA because we do not receive any of its
benefits. On the contrary, its effects are prejudicial to us. We also oppose
this agreement because it was negotiated behind our backs.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-6.75pt;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in;
background:white"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol;" class="">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">NAFTA should be renegotiated to promote fair trade relations among
Mexico, the United States, and Canada. A new treaty should assure just
treatment for workers and full enforcement of the labor laws of each country.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-6.75pt;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in;
background:white"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol;" class="">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">Mexico’s labor code should be fully enforced, and the government’s
labor authorities as well as unions should defend the authentic interests of
workers.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:47.25pt;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in;
background:white"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol;" class="">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">We need to share information about NAFTA directly with other
workers.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:47.25pt;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in;
background:white"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol;" class="">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">We also need to publicize the work of the CFO more
broadly.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-6.75pt;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in;
background:white"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol;" class="">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">We will work with RMALC and other organizations in the three NAFTA
countries in order to contribute to the creation of alternatives to “free
trade.”<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-6.75pt;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in;
background:white"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol;" class="">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">We need to influence the governments of Mexico and the United
States by making the voices of workers heard regarding our situation and our
proposals for change.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-6.75pt;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in;
background:white"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol;" class="">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">We need to develop strategies that permit workers to confront
NAFTA and the conditions in their factories without being fired.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">The CFO believes
it is necessary to fight to stop free trade agreements and economic
globalization when they affect workers negatively. As a grassroots workers
organization on the Mexico-U.S. border, we intend:<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:47.25pt;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:list .5in;
background:white"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol;" class="">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">To educate and organize more maquiladora workers.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:47.25pt;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:list .5in;
background:white"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol;" class="">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">To renegotiate NAFTA so that workers have a voice in its
development.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-6.75pt;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:list .5in;
background:white"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol;" class="">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">To reject the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, and
in its place adopt the Alternatives for the Americas developed by fair trade
networks of our hemisphere.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-6.75pt;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:list .5in;
background:white"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol;" class="">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">To develop international strategies for grassroots organization to
combat corporate-controlled globalization.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:47.25pt;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:list .5in;
background:white"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol;" class="">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">To defend the historic gains of workers that are codified in
Mexico’s Federal Labor Law.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-6.75pt;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:list .5in;
background:white"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol;" class="">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">To work for the implementation of the conventions of the
International Labor Organization.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-6.75pt;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:list .5in;
background:white"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol;" class="">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" class="">To oppose the “Millennium Round” of the World Trade Organization
(WTO), and instead evaluate the impact of WTO policies; in addition, to support
the formation of a WTO working group to explore the relationship between trade
agreements and labor rights.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial" class="">23 years of economic devastation are enough. It is time to implement a
new economic model that benefits the welfare of workers with full respect for
human and labor rights.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p>
<!--EndFragment--></div><br class=""><div class="">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; " class=""><div class="">Arthur Stamoulis</div><div class="">Citizens Trade Campaign</div><div class="">(202) 494-8826</div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
</div>
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