Thread: CAFTA-DR Opponent Estimates Some 30 Republicans Would Vote N

http://www.bna.com/itr/


No. 119
Wednesday June 22, 2005 Page A-22
ISSN 1523-567X
Regulation & Law

International Trade
CAFTA-DR Opponent Estimates Some 30 Republicans Would Vote No

Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) said June 21 that some 30 to 40 GOP members are, like him, solidly opposed to the proposed U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR)
"I'd say 30 is right," Jones told reporters after speaking at a press conference where several business organizations announced their opposition to the CAFTA-DR.

The speculation spells trouble for the Bush administration, which needs 218 votes to pass CAFTA-DR in the House. So far, only five House Democrats have announced their support for the agreement and the leading Democratic opponent said some 190 Democrats would vote against it.

Separately, U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman said late June 20 that it is up to the House and Senate leadership to decide when the White House should submit implementing legislation for the agreement. But he also said he expects the congressional leadership to decide the week of June 20 on when they will request that the administration submit the final bill.

The Bush administration is expected to submit formal implementing legislation for the pact any day now. Once the bill is submitted, Congress would have 90 legislative days to vote it up or down under trade promotion authority procedures.

The pact would lower tariffs and tear down trade barriers among the United States, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala.

The CAFTA-DR has attracted the greatest level of opposition of any of the trade agreements negotiated by the Bush administration. Opposition has come mainly from labor organizations, textile interests, and the sugar industry.

The House Ways and Means Committee approved draft implementing legislation on June 15 by a 25-16 vote in a "mock" markup after the Senate Finance Committee approved the draft June 14 by an 11-9 vote.

Portman told reporters that it is still possible for Congress to consider the agreement before the July 4 recess. He spoke to the press after a speech to the U.S.-Korea Business Council.


Senate May Go First

The Senate could consider the implementing legislation before the House, a private sector source told BNA on condition of anonymity, in the hope that passage by the Senate would create momentum in favor of the agreement. The CAFTA-DR vote in the House is expected to be closer than in the Senate.
Portman said such a move was "possible." He noted the implementing legislation could not be filibustered or amended, under trade promotion authority rules. "It is a bill that could go through the Senate relatively quickly," he said.

Portman added that he hopes more than 20 House Democrats will support the bill, and said that a labor provision added to the draft implementing legislation by Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) in the Ways and Means Committee may attract more Democrats.

"I feel good about the progress we've made in the past few weeks," he said. "I think the votes will be there in the end."


Vote Estimates Fluid

During the press conference, Jones initially estimated GOP opposition to be in the range of 20 to 23 votes but he subsequently amended his remarks after speaking to one of his staff members. "These people [the lawmakers opposed to CAFTA-DR] are solid because they're hearing from people at home," he told reporters.
The business organizations that announced their opposition to the CAFTA-DR--representing tool and die shops and makers of printed circuits, among others-- said that they had sent a letter to President Bush. CAFTA-DR "is simply the latest in [a] series of outsourcing deals that are gutting our domestic manufacturing base," the letter said.

At the same news conference, Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who is leading the House effort to defeat the pact, said that some 190 Democrats would vote against it.

The other lawmakers who spoke at the press conference against the CAFTA-DR were Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.), Bill Pascarell (D-N.J.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill), and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.). Schakowsky and others cited the letter to Bush as evidence that opposition to CAFTA-DR is not limited to labor organizations, textile firms, and the sugar industry.

In remarks to the U.S. Korea-Business Council, Portman said CAFTA-DR is a "gateway agreement" that will "enable us to do much more" on other free trade agreements and the Doha Round of World Trade Organization negotiations.

"If [CAFTA-DR] fails, frankly, I believe our ability to push global trade talks and other trade initiatives ... would be damaged," he said.


Guatemalan Delegation Pushes Pact

Meanwhile, a delegation of Guatemalan entrepreneurs June 21 traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with members described as undecided or their staffs to attempt to sell the agreement. Members targeted included Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), Susan Davis (D-Calif.), Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.), Jim Davis (D-Fla.), Charlie Gonzalez (D-Texas), Bob Inglis (R-S.C.), and Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.). On the Senate side, the delegation was planning to meet with the staff of Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa).
The Guatemalan delegation was headed by Juan Carlos Paiz who is president of the Non-Traditional Products Exporters Association. Paiz told reporters that his organization included some 1,000 firms, 90 percent of which were small or medium-sized businesses. Fifty-five percent of exports from member firms go to the United States, he remarked. Paiz said that the CAFTA-DR is part of a strategy to compete with Asian countries for the U.S. market.

Paiz disputed claims made by CAFTA-DR opponents, saying that "there is no way that signing a free trade agreement is going to lose jobs in Guatemala."


By Rossella Brevetti and Christopher S. Rugaber

REPUBLICANS....here this from a 4th Generation Republican....any Republican that votes FOR CAFTA will be removed from office without pension, investigated for Treason, and "will be made to SUFFER", to borrow a quote from Female Senator from North Carolina named Elizabeth Dole!!

OH yeeeeeah, 'Lizzie" threatened the Democratic representatives of the United States at a microphone over their desire to filibuster the "judge thing"....that if they filibustered, she promised them they would "suffer".

Can you imagine??

Well....all I can say is.....what goes around comes around Lizzie Girl....and it's our understanding that you are now a CAFTA GIRL!!

And as such, You and All Like You Will Be Made to Suffer!!

Oh yeeeeah. We believe here in "what's good for the goose, is good for the gander".

Listen up, Lizzie....you've had what most would consider a remarkable life. DO NOT THROW YOUR REPUTATION AWAY ON CAFTA.

You pay others to advise you, but this is free advice you should take to avoid the stake!!