http://www.truthabouttrade.org/article.asp?id=4177

Bush Sets Deals for Key Votes On Central America Trade Pact

by: Greg Hitt, Staff Reporter for The Wall Street Journal

Inching closer to House passage of a trade pact with Central America, the White House yesterday picked up the support of a small but crucial bloc of Southern Republicans after finalizing deals to address textile-industry concerns.

Under the agreement, which would bind the U.S. economy to five countries in Central America, as well as the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean, apparel made in the region can enter the U.S. duty-free if produced with American yarn and fabric. Critics say that loopholes in the pact would allow some fabric to come from China, diverting business from U.S. textile makers. The deals are designed to tighten those loopholes, ensuring, for example, that U.S. denim shipments to trouser makers in Nicaragua are preserved.

The deals are expected to secure five more legislators' votes for Cafta, as the Central American Free Trade Agreement is known, congressional and administration officials said.

Among them is Rep. Bob Inglis, a South Carolina Republican whose district is home to Milliken & Co., a Spartanburg textile maker that opposes Cafta. Though bucking a major local employer, Rep. Inglis said he is satisfied the changes will keep Chinese fabric from entering the U.S. through the Cafta countries. Mr. Inglis issued a news release yesterday saying the changes have "closed the door" on the loopholes.

The textile industry remains divided over Cafta, and some Southern Republicans, such as North Carolina Rep. Howard Coble, oppose it. But the deals worked out yesterday give the White House new momentum as the House prepares for a vote as early as tomorrow.

Cafta passed the Senate in late June on a 54-45 vote, but the White House has found the going rough in the other chamber, where concerns about textiles, sugar imports, and labor rights have damped enthusiasm.

Both sides in the debate are lobbying furiously this week, as Congress prepares to adjourn Friday for a monthlong recess.