Senate Finance Committee approves CAFTA

01 Jul '05

3 min read

The Senate took up the Central America Free Trade Agreement yesterday, with supporters predicting success in overcoming strong resistance to the market-opening deal.

Passage in the Senate, traditionally more sympathetic to trade agreements, could give CAFTA some momentum in the House, where there is stiffer opposition. A Senate vote on the measure could come as soon as today.

The Senate took up the Central America Free Trade Agreement yesterday, with supporters predicting success in overcoming strong resistance to the market-opening deal. Passage in the Senate, traditionally more sympathetic to trade agreements, could give CAFTA some momentum in the House, where there is stiffer opposition. A Senate vote on the measure could come as soon as today.

CAFTA would end trade barriers encountered by U.S. goods in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. It also would ease investment rules and strengthen protections for intellectual property. Supporters say CAFTA would solidify economic and democratic stability in the region.

The greater hurdle will come when the House takes up the measure next month. The agreement has run into vigorous opposition from labor groups and their Democratic allies. The U.S. sugar industry is also opposed, claiming that an increase in Central American imports, while small, could open the door to ruin. U.S. sugar producers have long enjoyed extensive protection from foreign competition.

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