LAT: Trade Pact (CAFTA) on Slippery Slope

[DeepModem Mom]

Trade Pact on Slippery Slope
Bush will welcome the leaders of the six nations in the Central American Free Trade Agreement, a treaty vulnerable to defeat in Congress.

By Edwin Chen, Times Staff Writer


WASHINGTON — President Bush will pursue his top trade initiative today as he welcomes six Latin American leaders to the White House, but the trade agreement Bush seeks faces serious trouble in Congress and could be defeated by his fellow Republicans.

With showdown votes just weeks away, the Central American Free Trade Agreement still lacks majority support in the Senate and the House, with a near-solid phalanx of Democrats lined up in opposition and key Republicans in open revolt.

The battle over CAFTA, as the agreement is known, illustrates the crosscurrents that swirl through Congress whenever a major trade issue surfaces, as local political imperatives often trump party loyalty. The trade controversy also underscores the pitfalls of Bush's strategy of relying on his slim majorities in Congress to enact a Republican agenda.

Moreover, it hints at the limits to the political capital that a newly reelected Bush had claimed only six months ago, now that his job approval ratings are declining amid rising gasoline prices and the resurgent violence in Iraq.

The Bush administration and its allies on Capitol Hill concede the uphill struggle for CAFTA, but insist they will prevail....


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-cafta12may12,0,3224235.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[Tux]

1. I hope it fails

We don't need nor take a NAFTA for all of Latin/South America.

[sadiesworld]

2. "...a near-solid phalanx of Democrats lined up in opposition..."

If the cheap labor conservatives want this thing bad enough, let'em wear it around their necks (and their necks only) in '06.

I like the party of NO!

[converted_democrat]

7. I like the party of no too!!!

The party of--- No more crap!!!!!

[Robert Oak]

3. may it "slip" right into the trash can where NAFTA should be too n/t

[Judi Lynn]

4. Trade Pact on Slippery Slope

May 12, 2005

Trade Pact on Slippery Slope
Bush will welcome the leaders of the six nations in the Central American Free Trade Agreement, a treaty that is facing trouble in Congress.

By Edwin Chen, Times Staff Writer


WASHINGTON — President Bush will pursue his top trade initiative today as he welcomes six Latin American leaders to the White House, but the trade agreement Bush seeks faces serious trouble in Congress and could be defeated by his fellow Republicans.

With showdown votes just weeks away, the Central American Free Trade Agreement still lacks majority support in the Senate and the House, with a near-solid phalanx of Democrats lined up in opposition and key Republicans in open revolt.

The battle over CAFTA, as the agreement is known, illustrates the crosscurrents that swirl through Congress whenever a major trade issue surfaces, as local political imperatives often trump party loyalty. The trade controversy also underscores the pitfalls of Bush's strategy of relying on his slim majorities in Congress to enact a Republican agenda.

Moreover, it hints at the limits to the political capital that a newly reelected Bush had claimed only six months ago, now that his job approval ratings are declining amid rising gasoline prices and the resurgent violence in Iraq.
(snip/...)

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-cafta12may12,0,3224235.story?coll=la-home-headlines
(Free registration is required)

[RDANGELO]

5. I don't trust this *administration on any trade deals.

They will not be negotiating for any workers,just the corporations.

[pinerow]

6. I heard a comment yesterday that the six countries combined GDP,

do not equal that of New Hampshire...