U.S. trade accords face change

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Thursday, 11.20.08
U.S. trade accords face change
Future trade agreements -- including yet-to-be-approved pacts with Colombia, Panama and South Korea -- will land in a tougher political landscape in Washington after 'fair trade' candidates made gains.

BY JANE BUSSEY
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The tectonic plates of American trade politics had already shifted slightly when President George W. Bush took a last stab at his economic legacy and appealed to Congress to approve the pending trade agreement with Colombia.

Some 40 Congressional candidates who campaigned on ''fair trade'' instead of ''free trade'' were victorious in the Nov. 4 elections, according to a post-election report from Public Citizen, a Washington advocacy group. Proponents of fair trade want trade agreements to include enforceable standards on labor, environmental protection and food safety, and to bar special rules allowing foreign investors to sue governments over loss of profits.

While Congress wrestles with how to revive the economy, Bush has continued to push the long-stalled free trade pact with Colombia.

''We have also asked Congress, if they really want to help the economy and jump start jobs in our country, to pass the free trade agreements that are in front of them,'' White House press secretary Dana Perino said this week. ``Colombia Free Trade, in particular, is one that is ripe for the taking. But they also have South Korea and Panama . . . that they're able to vote on as well.''

However, it appears time may have run out for the Bush administration and the Colombia accord. Lawmakers are meeting in a lame duck session this week to discuss an automotive industry bailout and no trade accord is on the agenda. But the issue could reappear next year.

Opponents of the type of trade accords pushed by the Bush administration and patterned after the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement say that Bush policies are out of touch with new public sentiment on trade.

Congress, which has long offered bipartisan support for NAFTA or the more recent Central American Free Trade Agreement, is slowly shifting to reflect that change.

Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch division, says the fair trade issue is gaining more diverse support. ''Campaigning on fair trade is no longer just a Democratic tactic,'' Wallach said in a conference call to discuss the report. ``Eighteen Republicans won on fair trade ads.''

Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat who is a vocal opponent of agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA, said there were more candidates campaigning on fair trade in this past election ``than at any time in our history.''

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