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Pennsylvania Politician Grudgingly Supports Trade Agreement

Posted on: Tuesday, 26 July 2005, 15:00 CDT

Jul. 26--Call it a tale of two votes -- one hopeful and enthusiastic, the second reluctant and without expecting much to come of it.

U.S. Rep. Phil English of Erie, R-3rd Dist., is prepared Wednesday to vote "yes," but without enthusiasm, for the Central American Free Trade Agreement. The Senate voted to approve the treaty in June.

If English is lukewarm in his support for CAFTA, it's not because he's afraid it will hurt manufacturers in northwestern Pennsylvania, but because he doesn't think it will have much of an effect on trade policy.

The proposed agreement would include the Central American nations of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, plus the U.S. and the Dominican Republic. The pact would create a free-trade zone similar to the one formed by the 11-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.

"CAFTA for northwestern Pennsylvania offers few advantages or threats," English said, noting that most countries involved in the pact already enjoy duty-free trading with the United States. "This is very much the enshrining of the status quo."

English continued, "My criticism of administration trade policy is that it has placed too much emphasis on small trade agreements like CAFTA that provide only minimal benefits for our region and at the same time ignore the bigger issue of China trade."

He's far more enthusiastic about the possible benefits of his own bill, the United States Trade Rights Enforcement Act, which come to a vote as soon as today.

While CAFTA aims to remove trade barriers with Central America, English said his bill is designed to address what he sees as unfair Chinese trade practices.

House Bill 3283, which has won the support of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., would establish a comprehensive system for monitoring Chinese compliance with its trade obligations.

What's more, the bill would allow the United States to impose duties on China or any other country that imposed them on American goods.

"My bill is a solid, important narrow initiative that takes on some of the bigger imbalances in China trade today," English said. "It's not a cure-all, but then nobody has a single proposal that is."

As of Monday, English saw the House vote on CAFTA as a toss-up.

He's more optimistic about the China bill, despite some apparent ambivalence in the Bush administration.

He said the bill seems to have widespread support from the middle of both major parties.

"I expect to pass it now and get it to the Senate with such a clear head of steam that it will send a message to China," English said. "If we can't get a two-thirds (vote needed to override a presidential veto), Congress will have sent the message that there is no consensus."

English said he was willing to throw his vote behind CAFTA only after winning support for what he thought was a more important measure.

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Source: Erie Times-News

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