(Washington, D.C.) – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today commended both houses of Congress for approving the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR).  The House of Representatives approved the CAFTA-DR Implementation Act by a vote of 217 to 215 earlier today, while the Senate approved CAFTA-DR by a vote of 54-45 on June 30.  The legislation will create a free trade area covering the United States, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. 

“CAFTA-DR will increase commerce, enhance consumer choice, and serve our fiscal interests,” CCAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “House members resisted the pleadings of narrow interests and acted for the good of the economy as a whole.”

CAFTA-DR represents the United States’ twelfth largest export market, the second largest export market in the region, and the sixth fastest growing export market.  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that in the first year of its implementation, the agreement will generate $2.5 billion in new sales, $866 million in new earnings for workers, and more than 26,000 jobs in 12 states (Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas).  Nine years after implementation, it will boost sales by more than $20 billion, raise workers’ earnings by $4.5 billion, and create more than 130,000 new jobs in those states.

U.S. agriculture will be one of the primary beneficiaries of CAFTA-DR, with exports to CAFTA-DR estimated to increase by almost $900 million in the first year of the agreement.  The bill also allows a small quantity of sugar to be imported from CAFTA-DR countries, the first time that sugar was not excluded from a free trade agreement.  Thousands of CCAGW members from around the country contacted their members of Congress in support of CAFTA-DR and in opposition to the exclusion of any product.

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.