Media companies dish out millions each year to protect copyright law, maintain ownership rights, and expand broadband lines in the U.S., but who would have guessed that the cause being pushed hardest by media lobbyists lately is one that affects such policies in Central America?

An analysis of thirty-five top companies’ lobbying disclosure forms from 2005 and the first half of 2006 shows that the most commonly listed bill—with eighteen media companies funneling money toward it—is the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA).

DR-CAFTA is a free trade agreement covering all kinds of trade between the U.S. and six countries: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic. Modeled after NAFTA, which took effect in 1994, the agreement means that 80 percent of all U.S. factory-goods exports will now be duty-free in the countries signing the agreement. At the same time, it will open up opportunities for American businesses to expand their operations. For the Central American signatories, the deal is appealing beyond the tax break on U.S. goods: DR-CAFTA encourages foreign investment, which creates jobs, and opens the door to U.S.-sponsored aid programs as well. According to a 2005 World Bank report on the DR-CAFTA deal, free-trade agreements typically produce an increase in the overall growth rates of the countries involved of about .6 percent annually during the first five years after the deals are implemented. In the case of DR-CAFTA, the report estimated, this translates into nearly half a million fewer Central Americans living in poverty by 2010. The agreement also requires the countries to adopt intellectual property standards that mimic U.S. standards. Media megaliths—including Walt Disney, News Corp., Microsoft, and General Electric—have taken a strong interest in the trade agreement largely because it forces Central American nations to rewrite laws on intellectual...

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