Oppose the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) – Recently Released Text Falls Short on Environment

A statement from the Center for International Environmental Law and partner organizations urging the U.S. Congress to oppose the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) due to its perceived threats to environmental protections and public health.

• The authors argue that CAFTA's investor rules allow foreign investors to bypass domestic courts and challenge environmental laws and regulations before international tribunals, potentially demanding monetary compensation for the implementation of such protections. This creates a risk that developing Central American countries may freeze the adoption of environmental standards to avoid costly legal challenges.
• The document claims CAFTA fails to meet the Trade Act of 2002 mandate that foreign investors receive "no greater substantive rights" than U.S. citizens. It asserts that the agreement provides rights and privileges exceeding U.S. law and includes vague standards, while specifically allowing investors to challenge government decisions on natural resource agreements, including federal mineral, gas, and oil leases.
• The agreement is criticized for lacking adequate environmental safeguards, as it does not require countries to maintain and enforce basic environmental laws, nor does it establish enforceable corporate responsibility standards. The authors note that the citizen submission process for alleging enforcement failures lacks clear outcomes or enforcement tools, unlike the monetary compensation available to private investors.
• The authors state that CAFTA lacks a comprehensive program for environmental cooperation, capacity building, and objective monitoring, and provides no dedicated grant or loan funding. They argue this is particularly problematic because the agreement would reduce the tariff revenue Central American countries use for environmental protection.
• The statement expresses concern that CAFTA does not ensure adequate "sanitary and phytosanitary" standards for food safety, public health, and the environment. Additionally, it suggests that rules on services could weaken safeguards in sectors including mining, offshore oil development, forestry, waste transport, and water.

APA

Magraw, D., Frymoyer, B., Muffett, C., Hershowitz, A., Wagner, M., Caldwell, J., Waskow, D., Seligman, D., Loyless, B., & Aurilio, A. (2004). Oppose the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) – Recently Released Text Falls Short on Environment. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/news/ciel-and-partner-organizations-urge-the-united-states-congress-to-oppose-the-recently-completed-central-american-free-trade-agreement-which-threatens-to-undermine-environmental-protections-in-both-t/

Chicago

Magraw, Dan, Bill Frymoyer, Carroll Muffett, Ari Hershowitz, Martin Wagner, Jake Caldwell, David Waskow, et al. Oppose the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) – Recently Released Text Falls Short on Environment. Center for International Environmental Law, 2004. https://www.ciel.org/news/ciel-and-partner-organizations-urge-the-united-states-congress-to-oppose-the-recently-completed-central-american-free-trade-agreement-which-threatens-to-undermine-environmental-protections-in-both-t/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Magraw |first1=Dan |last2=Frymoyer |first2=Bill |last3=Muffett |first3=Carroll |last4=Hershowitz |first4=Ari |last5=Wagner |first5=Martin |last6=Caldwell |first6=Jake |last7=Waskow |first7=David |last8=Seligman |first8=Dan |last9=Loyless |first9=Betsy |display-authors=etal |title=Oppose the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) – Recently Released Text Falls Short on Environment |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=1 February 2004 |url=https://www.ciel.org/news/ciel-and-partner-organizations-urge-the-united-states-congress-to-oppose-the-recently-completed-central-american-free-trade-agreement-which-threatens-to-undermine-environmental-protections-in-both-t/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{magraw2004oppose, author = {Magraw, Dan and Frymoyer, Bill and Muffett, Carroll and Hershowitz, Ari and Wagner, Martin and Caldwell, Jake and Waskow, David and Seligman, Dan and Loyless, Betsy and Aurilio, Anna}, title = {{Oppose the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) – Recently Released Text Falls Short on Environment}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2004}, month = feb, url = {https://www.ciel.org/news/ciel-and-partner-organizations-urge-the-united-states-congress-to-oppose-the-recently-completed-central-american-free-trade-agreement-which-threatens-to-undermine-environmental-protections-in-both-t/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }