We remember how the North American Free Trade Agreement was billed as an economic and social boon for the United States and Mexico. Today, no one could say that it worked out as promised.

On the contrary, Florida lost 35,511 jobs as a direct consequence of NAFTA. The manufacturing industry suffered across the country as factories moved south of the border to take advantage of cheaper labor, while workers' wages decreased and are even lower today.

Incredibly, the policy-makers who brought us NAFTA are trying again with the Central American Free Trade Agreement. The "promises" being made to improve the conditions of workers, the environment and democracy in the region by NAFTA's brother will turn out empty, just as they did with NAFTA.

Ten years ago, we had a trade surplus with Mexico; today, we have a $200 million trade deficit. Regardless of the many "promises," cheap, unregulated crops have devastated Florida farmers. Florida's tomato industry has been decimated, and hundreds of farms are out of business.

None of the promised consumer savings has been realized, either.

Despite the promises to ship American corn and corn products to Mexico in exchange for sugar shipped here, Mexico has not allowed one grain into its markets. CAFTA will be the same trap because in spite of the well-known impacts of NAFTA, free traders always believe that the perfect free trade agreement is just around the corner.

Florida sugar farmers already are producing more than they can sell and have had to decrease operations and lay off workers. In light of this, it is not surprising that the U.S. government's own economists admit that Florida sugar farmers will be adversely affected by increased imports of more than 100,000 additional tons of foreign sugar.

Proponents of free trade readily dismiss concerns with the casual attitude that it won't be so bad.

Nearly 25 percent of our foreign sugar imports already come from CAFTA-Dominican Republic countries. Additional imports would flood our markets with more sugar. University of Florida and Louisiana State University economists estimate that the agreement will cost American sugar farmers almost $200 million. Why trade good Florida jobs for more foreign subsidized sugar? The sugar industry contributes more than $3 billion and 25,000 jobs to Florida's economy. CAFTA will send more sugar workers to the unemployment line than workers from any other industry, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission. The treaty also will increase America's overall trade deficit with these countries by more than $100 million.

The American sugar industry will incur the losses, and yet, Florida agriculture will get little in return. The CAFTA nations represent a very small pool of economic activity. Together, they have a combined regional economy roughly the size of greater Orlando. History has shown that free trade agreements between disparate economies can prove
troublesome. Just look at the hardship Mexico endured soon after NAFTA was implemented. Even worse is that the U.S. government admits that CAFTA actually would increase our trade deficit with the region to $2.4 billion.

The U.S. already supplies more than 90 percent of most agricultural imports to Central American markets. Florida ports and air terminals now handle most of the trade. We have very little to gain.

Most Central American people live well below the poverty line and can't afford to buy much more of our products. Because more than 80 percent of their products already enter our markets duty-free, this trade agreement — which would be phased in over a couple of decades — would make a negligible difference immediately and would hardly spur their economies, bolster democracy or bring about world peace. It simply would transfer money from American farmers into the pockets of wealthy Central American businessmen.

There is no such thing as "fair" free trade in sugar. No other country does what CAFTA requires of us. Some 200 other bilateral and regional trade agreements in the world have excluded sugar in their negotiations. Sugar is a crop subject to market distortions in every country where it is grown. The only way to achieve a level playing field in sugar trade is through negotiations at the World Trade Organization, where all countries would be forced to deal with their individual programs, subsidies and market distortions. We support negotiating free trade in sugar at the WTO, but we do not support unilateral disarmament as in CAFTA.