Today, the Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar ( R-FL ) and the Congressman Tom Malinowski ( D-NJ ) presented H.R. 3964, the bipartisan law Review with Mark Green ( R-TN ), Mario Díaz-Balart ( R-FL ), Stephanie Murphy ( D-FL ), Brian Mast ( R-FL ), Carlos Gimenez ( R-FL ), Michael Waltz ( R-FL ), Byron Donalds ( R-FL ), Charlie Crist ( D-FL ) ), Liz Cheney ( R-WY ), Steve Cohen ( D-TN ), Nicole Malliotakis ( R-NY ), Madison Cawthorn ( R-NC ), Rick Crawford ( R-AR ), Claudia Tenney ( R-NY ), Michelle Steel ( R-CA ) and the representative Jenniffer González-Colón ( R-PR ). This bill requires the United States Trade Representative ( USTR ) to review Nicaragua's compliance with CAFTA-DR ( a Free Trade Agreement between the United States and 6 Central American countries ) within 60 days.
On November 7, 2021, Nicaragua is scheduled to have its presidential elections. However, Daniel Ortega has embarked on a violent repression against democracy and imprisoned opposition candidates running for president. Ortega is dismantling Nicaragua's democratic institutions, actively undermining the interests of the United States and violating the rights of the Nicaraguan people. Reviewing Nicaragua's compliance with the CAFTA-DR Free Trade Agreement is not only necessary, but urgent.
“ Under Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua has become a land of oppression, ” said the Congressman Salazar. “ Ortega's thugs are imprisoning political opponents and violently silencing dissident voices. I introduced the Nicaraguan Free Trade Review Act because trade with the United States is a privilege, not a right. We must demonstrate to the Ortega regime that it cannot continue to repress the Nicaraguan people while reaping the economic benefits of free trade with the United States. The United States should not be in the business of trading dictators. ”
“ I am saddened by Ortega's aggressive dismantling of Nicaragua's fragile democracy and the freedoms for which the Nicaraguan people have fought so hard. I ask that you immediately reverse these actions and respect the laws and the Nicaraguan constitution. At the same time, there is no reason why the United States should reward its regime with preferential access to the US market; that is why this bill requires an immediate review of Nicaragua's compliance with our free trade agreement, ” said the Congressman Malinowski.
First signed by President Bush in 2005, the Dominican Republic-Central America FTA ( CAFTA-DR ) is a free trade agreement between the United States and Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Taken together, the countries that make up this agreement are the 18th largest trading partner in the United States.
Congresswoman Salazar currently represents Florida's beautiful 27th congressional district, which includes most of the city of Miami, its suburbs, and its beaches. He is a member of the Small Business Commission and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives.
Original source can be found here.
