Steve Farrell
Wednesday, Feb 23, 2005

Story Continues Below

  On Thursday, it was the No Child Left Behind program that got the ax, in favor of Utah's right to choose the educational agenda it thinks best.

The Utah House resolution reads:

H.R. 9 House Resolution Discouraging Participation in Free Trade Area of the Americas

General Description:

This resolution of the House of Representatives urges the United States Congress to oppose entering into a Free Trade Area of the Americas.

Highlighted Provisions:

This resolution:

§ urges the United States Congress to oppose any agreement for the United States to enter into a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA); and

§ urges that the United States not enter into the FTAA until the nation has had more experience with and a greater understanding of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization.

Special Clauses:

None

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the state of Utah:

WHEREAS, the United States of America has always been the world leader in pushing for free trade, which is a hallmark of our capitalistic society;

WHEREAS, free trade only thrives where there is a level playing field of government regulations between trading partners;

WHEREAS, the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was supposed to bring additional prosperity to the United States and level the playing field with Canada and Mexico, thus perpetuating free trade between our nations;

WHEREAS, notwithstanding the good intentions of NAFTA, our nation has suffered the loss of almost 900,000 jobs due to NAFTA, many of them coming in the manufacturing sector;

WHEREAS, manufacturing jobs in the United States have plunged from 19.3 million in 1980 to only about 14.6 million today, in large part because of these types of trade issues;

WHEREAS, the United States has gone from a trade surplus with Mexico prior to NAFTA to a substantial trade deficit;

WHEREAS, the United States is a current member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which has been called "The United Nations of World Trade";

WHEREAS, the United States consistently bows to the wishes of the WTO, only proving the words of Texas Congressman Ron Paul to be prophetic: "The most important reason why we should get out [of the WTO] is to maintain our nation's sovereignty. We should never deliver to any international governing body the authority to dictate what our laws should be. And this is precisely the kind of power that has been given to the WTO.";

WHEREAS, both the WTO and NAFTA, through the use of trade tribunals, now claim the sovereign authority to overrule decisions of American courts and make awards to foreign businesses for violations of trade agreements;

WHEREAS, Abner Mikva, a former chief judge on the federal appellate bench and a former congressman, has stated: "If Congress had known there was anything like this in NAFTA, they never would have voted for it.";

WHEREAS, the United States is considering entering into a new 34-member Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) in 2005; and

WHEREAS, based upon the experience that the United States has had with NAFTA and the WTO, United States membership in the planned FTAA would increase manufacturing flight in the state of Utah and throughout the United States:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the state of Utah respectfully but firmly urges all members of the United States Congress to vote no on any agreement for the United States to enter into a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the state of Utah urges the United States Congress to not enter into the FTAA until the United States has had more experience with and a greater understanding of the impacts of NAFTA and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the members of Utah's congressional delegation, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

The Utah Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel gave the measure a preliminary thumbs-up for its constitutionality.

It remains to be seen how many other states will raise similar objections – though we can only hope that all of them will. Expectations are that the FTAA will be brought to the floor of the U.S. Senate for fast-track consideration in June.

Meanwhile, also on Friday, the Bush administration quietly put the signature to new agreements on trade and the environment under the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) as part of a preliminary move toward the FTAA.

This child of the U.N., expected to be voted upon this March by Congress, aims at creating, among other things, a Central American Secretariat for Environmental Matters, authorizing yet another unaccountable layer of government that will continue to subvert our sovereignty.

Contact Steve

NewsMax pundit Steve Farrell is associate professor of political economy at George Wythe College, press agent for Defend Marriage (a project of United Families International), and the author of the highly praised, inspirational novel, "Dark Rose" (available at amazon.com).

For you West Coast night owls, try and catch Steve on Mark Edwards' "Wake up America!" talk radio show on 50,000-Watt KDWN, 720 AM, 10 p.m. to midnight, Monday Nights; or on the worldwide internet at AmericanVoiceRadio.com (preferred access at WakeUpAmericaFoundation.com

Editor's note: