U.S. Blocked Release of CAFTA Reports: concluded that countries proposed for free-trade status have poor working environments and fail to protect work

AP: U.S. Blocked Release of CAFTA Reports - New York Times: "By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Published: June 29, 2005 | Filed at 2:11 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Labor Department worked for more than a year to maintain secrecy for studies that were critical of working conditions in Central America, the region the Bush administration wants in a new trade pact.

The contractor hired by the department in 2002 to conduct the studies has become a major opponent of the administration's proposed Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA.

The government-paid studies concluded that countries proposed for free-trade status have poor working environments and fail to protect workers' rights. The department dismissed the conclusions as inaccurate and biased, according to government and contractor documents reviewed by The Associated Press."