By the A.M. Costa Rica staff Wednesday was a milestone for the pending free trade treaty with the United States. The Comisión de Asuntos Internacionales finished hearing testimony on the treaty. The final set of witnesses was Marco Vinicio Ruiz, the minister of Comercio Exterior, Amparo Pacheco, a vice minister, and various experts from the ministry. The committee has heard from 80 persons in 47 meetings. The witnesses were divided among experts, proponents and opponents. The minister, of course, supports the trade agreement, and said that approval was vital for the 594 firms in the agricultural sector and their 153,146 direct employees. The minister also said that the treaty does not undermine the power of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social. That’s something the union representing Caja employees would dispute. The union held a press conference Tuesday to explain its concerns and promised to be in the streets for a general strike of resistance called for Oct. 23 and 24. The legislative commission is not ready yet to make a recommendation to the full Asamblea Legislativa. The commission will entertain motions and discussions in future sessions, but approval is almost certain. Once the treaty reaches the assembly floor there will be more days of speeches and discussion. However, the take-it or leave-it treaty cannot be changed. The commission is planning to bring debates on the treaty to the people. Saturday legislators will be in Guápiles. The 9 a.m. session at the Hotel Suerre is expected to attract some 300 treaty opponents and supporters. Two groups in favor and two groups of opponents will have a chance to speak. Other regional forums are planned. All parties to the treaty except Costa Rica have approved the document. The United States is spending money to help Central American countries adjust. For example, the U.S. State Department announced a $582,288, two-year program Wednesday to help trade treaty countries understand and prosecute intellectual property crime. That includes protection of trademarks and inventions.

One complaint of the Caja union, is that the free trade treaty will require the purchase of original
medications and prohibit the purchase of what it called generic medications.

The organization is the Unión Nacional de Empleados de la Caja y la Seguridad Social.

The union also complains that companies and firms would have the right under the free trade treaty to contract with other health providers instead of the Caja. Payment to the Caja now is part of what employers must now pay for their employees.
The union says it is worried about reductions in income to the Caja and subsequent deterioration of services.

Throughout the public sector the treaty generates fears of private competition. The Caja union also worries about the opening of the monopoly insurance sector. Commercial insurance will be open to competition in 2008, and employee compensation insurance and automobile insurance will be open in 2011.

Now insurance is handled only by the Instituto Nacional de Seguros, and employees from there will be on strike Oct. 23 and 24.

The free trade protest will culminate in a big march from all over the country to the Asamblea Legislativa Oct. 24.

Meanwhile political opponents are trying to find inflammatory issues to generate public opposition. Last week opponents said the treaty would open the country to being the site of arms manufacturers.

Minister Ruiz told the committee Wednesday that no aspect of the free trade agreement undermines the power of the state to make laws on matters of security, including outlawing arms manufacturing.

One major issue still confronts national lawmakers, and that is the number of votes required for ratification of the treaty. The Arias administration easily can muster 29 of the 57 assembly votes. But many legal commentators have said 38 are necessary.

Opponents certainly will file many Sala IV constitutional court appeals against the treaty on many grounds if it is ratified. President Óscar Arias Sánchez said that this is likely in January.