Worse, NAFTA has contributed to economic instability in the region. Prior to the very limited adoption of NAFTA, development organizations warned that the agreement could crowd out family farmers, who make up a significant portion of Central America`s workforce by forcing them to compete directly with the highly subsidized U.S. agricultural industry. Indeed, agricultural imports from the United States to Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala have doubled since the agreement entered into force, while the balance of agricultural trade between countries and the United States has declined, implying the movement of farmers. As a far-reaching agreement, the free trade agreement includes trade in goods, trade in services, investment, competition, protection of intellectual property rights, government procurement, trade and sustainable development, and cooperation. In 2008, the AFL-CIO and Guatemalan unions filed a formal complaint in accordance with CAFTA`s labor rules and called for an end to widespread anti-union violence, wage theft and other abuses. It was only six years and dozens of Unionist assassinations later that the U.S. government proceeded to arbitration in this case. The U.S.
lost that case and proved that the model of labor standards in U.S. trade agreements was deeply flawed. (If a case related to the serious and endemic violence against unionists in Guatemala cannot be won, where could a case under these rules be successful….) Even today, Guatemalan trade union workers suffer frequent attacks almost unpunished. This gives Guatemala considerable international reach and incentives for trade abroad and offers new options and alternatives to these markets. .