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washingtonpost.com
CAFTA Wins Approval From Senate
By Paul Blustein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 1, 2005; D05
The Senate approved the Central American Free Trade
Agreement last night, giving momentum to one of the most hotly
debated trade deals negotiated by Washington in years.
The pact still must pass the House, where it faces
overwhelming opposition from Democrats and enough Republicans
to make the outcome uncertain. But the growing bipartisan
support it has received in the past couple of days, plus its
endorsement yesterday by a 25 to 16 vote in the House Ways and
Means Committee, has encouraged backers.
The Senate vote, 54 to 45, "is a clear sign that CAFTA will
be approved by the entire U.S. Congress," said Calman Cohen,
director of the Emergency Committee on American Trade, a
business group.
The accord would essentially extend the North American Free
Trade Agreement to six Latin American countries, lowering or
eliminating barriers to trade between the United States and
Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador and
the Dominican Republic.
Because the economies of those Latin nations are so small,
the accord's impact on the U.S. economy would be minimal. But
it is seen as a bellwether of U.S. willingness to enter into
new trade agreements.
The countries involved are much poorer than other nations,
such as Australia and Singapore, which also have free-trade
deals with the United States.
They also have dismal records on protecting their workers.
Democrats have denounced the deal for offering inadequate
provisions on labor rights.
But the White House has turned around opponents by offering
concessions to lawmakers from sugar-producing states, who
feared the pact would open the door to a flood of sugar
imports.
Source:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/29/AR2005062900752.html |
