Thread: Tight vote expected in trade pact

www.jsonline.com

Tight vote expected in trade pact
State Republicans on the fence, Democrats against it
By KATHERINE M. SKIBA
kskiba@journalsentinel.com
Posted: July 26, 2005

Washington - With a showdown looming in the House over a free-trade pact with Central America, most Republicans from Wisconsin are on the fence and Democrats are united in opposition.

After Senate passage of the Central America Free Trade Agreement in June, the House will take it up this week, House Speaker Dennis Hastert said Tuesday. He called it good for U.S. businesses and workers.

The pact, known as CAFTA, would end most trade barriers between the United States and six countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.

The U.S. exports $15 billion a year annually to the region. Last year, Wisconsin shipped $117 million in exports there, according to U.S. Commerce Department figures.

The House speaker, an Illinois Republican, appeared with Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and heralded the pact for its potential to create jobs in the U.S. and bring stability to a region once a "hotbed of revolution."

"This two-lane highway of trade will lead to economic prosperity for the United States," Hastert said. It "will help solidify democracy and economic reform in Central America."

Gutierrez called passage a historic opportunity to create a new future for fragile young democracies. He noted that the six foreign countries had supported the U.S. in Iraq, four by sending troops. "Now they're looking for our support," he said.

Other advocates said it would help build Hispanic businesses in the U.S., lower the U.S. trade deficit and, by creating prosperity in Central America, curb illegal immigration.

A tight vote is forecast. Sherrod Brown, the Ohio Democrat counting votes on his side, said the GOP had "opened the cookie jar" and offered side deals in exchange for a yes vote.

One GOP supporter predicted victory, saying his side would "twist arms until they break into a thousand pieces," Brown said.

Brown spoke Tuesday as he gathered with 21 other lawmakers - including three Republicans - to urge defeat. The Democrats included Tammy Baldwin of Madison.

While the region is small, the stakes for the White House are high.

Democrats from Wisconsin oppose the measure. "The fundamental problem with CAFTA is that it was written by corporate America for corporate America," said Dave Obey, House Democrat of Wausau.

He condemned it for its lack of labor, health, safety and environmental provisions in partner countries. The pact will erode the living standards for U.S. workers "as corporations race for the cheapest labor costs in the region," he said.

Rep. Gwen Moore of Milwaukee said the North American Free Trade Agreement, passed in 1993, has failed to live up to promises. "In Wisconsin, there are high levels of unemployment, and manufacturing jobs are hemorrhaging at an astounding pace," she said.

Baldwin cited Labor Department figures from 2000 putting U.S. job losses blamed on NAFTA at more than 507,384. In the meantime, trade deficits with Mexico and Canada have only risen since that pact was signed, she said.

Tuesday, she decried a dearth of environmental protections in CAFTA for partner countries. "Polluting factories that poison our environment should not be located in Managua or San Jose, any more than they should in Baraboo or Beloit, or in Waunakee or Wisconsin Dells," she said.

Ron Kind of La Crosse sounded his opposition against CAFTA in May, citing concerns for worker rights abroad and an "erosion" in investment in U.S. workers.

As of Tuesday, Republican Paul Ryan of Janesville was alone among House Republicans from the state to signal a yes vote. He lauded the pact as a "good deal for Wisconsin workers."

Ryan said it would level the playing field for business and farmers who export. "Right now, most products from Central America enter our country duty-free, but our exports to the region face high trade barriers," he said. The pact "would correct this inequity, help save American jobs, and improve labor standards in Central America through the strongest labor requirements of any trade agreement to date."

Mark Green of Green Bay, who is running for governor, said through an aide that he is leaning toward voting yes in light of the support he's heard from farmers. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. of Menomonee Falls and Tom Petri of Fond du Lac are undecided, aides said.

"This two-lane highway of trade will lead to economic prosperity for the United States," Hastert said. It "will help solidify democracy and economic reform in Central America."

Why does this doofus and obvious nuthead care a rat's ear about democracy and economic reform in Central America??

%&#&$&#$& - the concern should be with your HOME country, Speaker Hastert.

I'm adding you to the growing list of globalist traitors. Hope your actions come home to haunt you.