President Bush today signed into law the Central American Free Trade Agreement saying that it would "advance peace and prosperity throughout the region." Many church leaders disagree. Church World Service, “the relief, development, and refugee assistance ministry of 36 Protestant, Orthodox, and Anglican denominations in the United States,” released a statement last week that read:

Church World Service laments the passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) in the U.S. House of Representatives. CAFTA will further harm the already impoverished and vulnerable people of Central America by:

• destroying the livelihoods of rural farmers in the Dominican Republic and Central America, as NAFTA has done to Mexican farmers;
• making it difficult if not impossible for Central Americans to obtain affordable generic medicines;
• perpetuating and increasing the exploitation of workers,
• and preventing governments from regulating foreign investment in ways that contribute to broad-based development goals.

CWS member denominations opposing CAFTA include, among others, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The United Methodist Church Board of Church and Society. Central American church leaders also opposed CAFTA.

Passage of CAFTA was a serious blow to hopes of ordinary people in both the United States and Central America. But it is not the end of the struggle to ensure that trade agreements are consistent with the moral values of fairness, justice, and the common good. Church World Service will continue to work with Congress and all people of good will to develop these kinds of trade agreements. For further analysis of trade issues and why we opposed CAFTA, visit www.churchworldservice.org/Educ_Advo/trade.

Economic globalization continues to benefit wealthy western nations at the expense of “the least of these” and as such should be an issue of primary concern for all Christians.