Catholics Conditionally Back Mexican Trade Pact

U.S. Catholic leaders, lobbied by the Bush Administration to endorse free trade between the United States and Mexico, have given a mixed blessing to the government’s initiative.

In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills, the U.S. Catholic Conference gave support in principle to a free trade agreement with Mexico.

But the church agency called on the Administration to make adequate work, safety and environmental standards a part of any accord on free trade.

“Our basic criterion for this agreement is whether it enhances or diminishes the lives, dignity and rights of our two peoples--especially of the poor and workers,” said the letter signed by Msgr. Robert N. Lynch, general secretary of the Catholic Conference, which represents the American hierarchy. The letter, dated June 4, was released this week.

In seeking public support for trade negotiations with Mexico, the Administration has courted the top ranks of the church’s leaders.

Trade Representative Hills asked for their support in a closed-door meeting with 13 U.S. and Mexican bishops May 9. She gave the same message at a May 20 briefing for Catholic press representatives here.

In its letter to Hills, the Catholic Conference said a trade pact between the United States and Mexico “may well contribute to improvement in the quality of life” in both countries.

But the letter said the agreement will do so only if it guarantees the rights of workers in both countries. For the Mexicans, any agreement should provide for “decent work for just wages and in decent conditions,” as well as their right to organize independent labor unions, the letter said.

The bishops also said the United States should make provisions for American workers who lose their jobs because of corporate flight to Mexico. The letter cited the need for adequate unemployment insurance, job retraining and other federal assistance to dislocated workers and families.

These are “not side issues or peripheral matters, but rather concerns that will decide whether such an agreement will contribute to the hopes of its advocates or to the fears of its opponents,” the Catholic Conference said.

Opponents of an agreement say it will encourage U.S. companies to move to Mexico in search of lower wages and less-stringent environmental laws, thereby taking jobs away from American workers. These fears were echoed in the bishops’ letter.

Chris Baumann, a spokesman for the Catholic Conference, said the American bishops reached their position after talks with their counterparts in Mexico. He said the Mexican bishops have yet to take a formal stand on free trade but added: “They are concerned about the same things we’re concerned about.”