An Open Letter to the United States Congress:
We, the undersigned taxpayer and policy groups, representing millions of Americans, strongly urge you to vote in support of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).
The vote on this measure will pit benefits for American consumers and taxpayers against benefits for narrow special interests, who simply want to maintain their current government-sanctioned privileges. For American consumers, CAFTA will mean lower prices on a great variety of goods. Further, tariffs are taxes, and by reducing tariffs, Congress will help provide tax relief. Clearly, if CAFTA wins, American consumers and taxpayers will win.
But American businesses and workers also will win. According to an econometric analysis conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, CAFTA will expand U.S. sales to the area by $3.9 billion and create a net gain of 26,000 new jobs. Breaking down artificial trade barriers will mean some change and dislocation (which explains the vociferous opposition of some special interests), but as economists across the ideological spectrum have demonstrated, freer trade means more jobs, higher economic growth, and improved standards of living.
Defeat of CAFTA will be a great disappointment and a signal that protecting special interests is more important to this Congress than doing what is right for America. So, we urge you to support the Central America Free Trade Agreement.
Sincerely,
| National Taxpayers Union | Hampton Roads Taxpayer Coalition |
| American Legislative Exchange Council | Kansas Taxpayers Network |
| Americans for Prosperity | Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom |
| Americans for Tax Reform | New York Tax Reform Organization |
| Anchorage Taxpayers for Responsible Taxation | RedState.org |
| Arkansas Taxpayers' Rights Committee | Republicans United for Tax Relief |
| Council for Citizens Against Government Waste | Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council |
| Citizens Against Higher Taxes | Taxpayers Association, Inc. |
| Family Research Council | Tennessee Tax Revolt, Inc. |
| FreeNYS.org | Libertarian Party |
| FreedomWorks | United Californians for Tax Reform |
| Frontiers of Freedom | West Virginians Against Government Waste |