Toledo defends labor record as US vote nears



Toledo argued that Democrats should not be concerned that the pact does not explicitly require Peru to meet International Labor Organization, or ILO, standards, because the Andean nation already does so. "We have no problem at all with complying with the ILO (International Labor Organization)," Toledo said at the Inter-American Dialogue, which focuses on Western Hemisphere policy issues. "But we do it because it's our conviction, not because we want to get involved in an electoral fight between Republicans and Democrats." President Alejandro Toledo of Peru was a language instructor for the Peace Corps in the 1960's. In 2002, Toledo invited the Peace Corps to return to Peru after a 27 year absence.

Toledo defends labor record as US vote nears

Ex-Peru leader defends labor record as US vote nears

Tue Aug 15, 2006 2:10pm ET139

By Doug Palmer

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo urged U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday to support a trade pact with his country, saying Democratic party concerns about weak labor protections were misplaced.

Democrats have expressed concern that the agreement failed to guarantee basic rights like freedom to associate and collective bargaining, the elimination of forced labor, the abolition of child labor and the elimination of discrimination in the workplace.

The Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives were expected to vote on the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement sometime after lawmakers return from a month-long August recess.

Toledo argued that Democrats should not be concerned that the pact does not explicitly require Peru to meet International Labor Organization, or ILO, standards, because the Andean nation already does so.

"We have no problem at all with complying with the ILO (International Labor Organization)," Toledo said at the Inter-American Dialogue, which focuses on Western Hemisphere policy issues. "But we do it because it's our conviction, not because we want to get involved in an electoral fight between Republicans and Democrats."

Peru's legislature approved the pact shortly before Toledo left office at the end of July.

U.S. Democrats raised the same concerns about a free trade agreement with Central America, which the House approved last year by just two votes after a bitter partisan debate.

In addition, many Democrats are using Toledo's comments to criticize the way the Bush administration negotiated the agreement. They cite both public and private remarks Toledo made indicating Peru would have been willing to incorporate ILO standards into the text of the agreement.

Instead, the pact includes what many Democrats consider a much weaker provision -- the requirement that both the United States and Peru enforce their existing labor laws.

Toledo acknowledged suggesting the two countries talk about how to incorporate ILO standards into the text. "I was the one that proposed that," he said.

Meanwhile, Toledo declined to say whether the United States should renew long-time trade benefits for two of its neighbors, Ecuador and Bolivia, which expire at the end of the year.

However, he warned "we might fall into the trap of once again of trying to put out a fire instead of preventing it" if the United States does not pay attention to the region.

Unlike Ecuador and Bolivia, Peru and Colombia have locked in duty-free access for their exports by negotiating trade agreements with the United States.

When this story was posted in August 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:




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