Thread: More gain than pain (CAFTA)

Greensboro News & Record


More gain than pain

6-19-05


News & Record


North Carolina will gain more than it loses from free trade with Central America.

But there likely will be a downside if Congress approves the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which also covers the Dominican Republic.

Weighing potential gains against losses leaves some members of the state’s congressional delegation, including Mel Watt and Howard Coble, still undecided.

Watt sees an irony in that the North Carolina textile jobs most threatened by free trade with Central American countries already have been depleted by imports from China and may not survive long anyway. But emerging employers â€â€

The administration says enforcement provisions will prevent that. Some observers are skeptical, but North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole was satisfied with assurances and endorsed the treaty.

I sure hope the "enforcement provisions" aren't like the the ones being used for our immigration laws. If so, CAFTA would be BIG trouble.