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House Weighs Trade Deal

Posted on: Tuesday, 26 July 2005, 18:00 CDT

Jul. 26--Four fence-sitting Southern Californians are among a handful of lawmakers who will decide the fate this week of a Central American trade agreement that could yield big benefits for Hollywood and Los Angeles' $12 billion apparel industry.

"It's down to a couple dozen undecided members and which way they break," said Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, who plans to vote against the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

Locally, the undecided are Rep. Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys; Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Thousand Oaks; Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach/Long Beach; and Rep. Gary Miller, R- Diamond Bar.

The Senate passed CAFTA in June by a 54-45 vote, with Sen. Barbara Boxer voting against it and Sen. Dianne Feinstein supporting it. The House is expected to vote Thursday. In the meantime, Capitol Hill is a frenzy of last-minute lobbying and arm-twisting.

Southland politicians in the dwindling "maybe' camp have found themselves courted by the Bush administration and business groups who believe the pact will open up new markets for U.S. companies, and an odd alliance of labor, environmental, anti-immigration and sugar industry groups opposing it.

"The White House and the Republican leadership are not playing to lose," said Ernest Baynard, a Beverly Hills native who now runs an anti-CAFTA group in D.C. called AmericansforFairTrade.org. "Let's see if they break enough arms to push it through.'

Last week, Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Bakersfield, reportedly issued a subtle threat to Republicans that access to local highway money could depend on their CAFTA vote, though Southern Californians deny they've been directly pressured. On the other side, Baynard and other activists are launching a series of rallies over the next two days, keeping up a constant stream of pressure against CAFTA.

The trade pact would remove most tariffs on products from Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. According to the administration, the U.S. exports about $15 billion to the region annually.

Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., said the biggest local beneficiary would be the apparel industry, which employs about 92,300 Los Angelinos and in recent years has lost business to China.

"It might make Central America a more attractive location for a lot of outsourcing for the apparel industry," Kyser said, noting local companies like Guess and the junior manufacturer Hot Kiss would likely find shorter supply lines and less red tape.

Hollywood also sees CAFTA as a money saver, both in the elimination of duties on products as well as new copyright protections.

Central America and the Dominican Republic "is a market that has tremendous growth potential but, unfortunately, is mostly in the hands of pirates," Sheldon Presser, senior vice president of the Burbank-based Warner Bros., told a congressional panel in April.

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Copyright (c) 2005, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Calif.

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Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune

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