[Marxism] US says "free trade" deal threatened by demand for revenue from foreign oil cos.

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

HoustonChronicle.com -- http://www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section:
Energy

April 20, 2006, 10:47PM



U.S. tells Ecuador trade deal is in peril
South American nation urged to act on range of issues
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

QUITO, ECUADOR - The United States warned Ecuador that a proposed
free-trade agreement was at risk unless Quito acted on a growing list of
investment and other concerns.


A spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative's Office said no date
had been scheduled for renewed talks with Ecuador on a trade pact. The
U.S. warning came a day after Ecuador's legislature approved a bill that
requires U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum and other foreign oil companies
to hand over part of the extra revenue resulting from higher oil prices.

Ecuador produces about 530,000 barrels of oil a day. State oil company
PetroEcuador accounts for about 40 percent of all production.

On another matter this week, Ecuador said it wanted to set an example
for other nations with a proposal to legalize thousands of undocumented
workers from neighboring countries.

Ecuador's proposal comes as the United States is embroiled in a fierce
debate over an immigrant law overhaul that has spurred weeks of massive
marches through U.S. cities.

There are tens of thousands of undocumented workers in Ecuador, most
from Colombia and Peru, experts say. Many of the workers went to Ecuador
to escape years of bloody conflict and to benefit from the country's
dollar-based economy.

"We cannot talk about decent working conditions for our immigrants in
other places when we don't legalize immigrants working here at the same
time," Labor Minister Galo Chiriboga Zambrano said.


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