Bush presses Republicans for CAFTA victory

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Bush urged Republican
holdouts in the House of Representatives on Wednesday to back a
controversial free-trade agreement with Central America in the
face of staunch Democratic opposition.

“It will be a tough vote but we’ll pass CAFTA tonight,”
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said after a Capitol Hill
meeting between Bush and House Republicans, including some who
have had concerns it could hurt industries in their districts.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said “more than 90
percent” of the 202 House Democrats would vote against the
U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, which she
said was a bad deal for workers.

“If the president wins on this, and I do not know that it
is certain that he will, it will be a Pyrrhic victory for him,
because we will take our message to the American people that we
are the ones looking out for them,” said the Californian.

The American Farm Bureau Federation estimates the pact will
boost U.S. farm exports to the region by $1.5 billion annually,
once it is fully implemented. The National Association of
Manufacturers also expects substantial gains. A long list of
other business groups also back the agreement.

Republicans gained some momentum for the CAFTA vote after
the House approved a bill to get tough on subsidized imports
from China. A number of industrial state Republicans such as
Rep. Phil English of Pennsylvania were expected to vote for
CAFTA because of approval of the China bill.

Republicans also won a procedural vote to begin two hours
of formal debate on CAFTA. A final vote on the trade agreement
was expected late on Wednesday or early on Thursday.

Rep. Jim Matheson, a Utah Democrat, said he would vote for
CAFTA, becoming just the seventh House Democrat to publicly
take that position. U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman said
he was hopeful more Democrats would follow suit. But Rep.
Charles Gonzalez, a Texas Democrat the administration wanted
badly to win over, announced he would vote “no” on CAFTA.

“I think we’ll get 15 (Democratic) votes,” Rep. James
Moran, a Virginia Democrat long on record in favor of the pact,
told reporters. He blamed the low count on Republicans pursuing
a strategy of passing major bills with as few Democrats as
possible. “We should get 50 votes, because there are at least
50 pro-trade (Democratic) votes in the House,” Moran said.

MONTHS OF UNCERTAINTY

The long-awaited House vote ends months of uncertainty
about the fate of CAFTA, which lowers trade barriers among the
United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,
Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. The Senate approved the
pact last month by a vote of 54-45.

The White House has had a harder time rounding up votes for
CAFTA in the House than for any other recent trade pact because
of stiff opposition from Republicans in textile and
sugar-producing states. Some conservative Republicans oppose
trade pacts as an infringement of U.S. sovereignty.

Most Democrats oppose CAFTA on the grounds its labor
provisions are not tough enough for a region with a poor
workers’ rights record. The White House says the labor
provisions are stronger than any previous trade agreement.

Bush appealed to House Republicans to put aside any
“parochial interests” and look at the broader benefits of the
pact to the United States and the region, DeLay said.

DeLay said Republicans would gavel the CAFTA vote to a
close “when we get 218,” the number needed for approval.
Republican leaders have angered Democrats in the past by
holding votes open until they finally pressure enough party
members to vote the way the leadership wants.

Several Republicans from the textile states of South
Carolina, Alabama and Georgia are expected to support CAFTA
after reaching a deal with Republican and administration
leaders to address specific concerns.

Many Republicans from North Carolina — which has
experienced heavy textile job losses — remain opposed.

The Bush administration has also made promises aimed at
reducing sugar industry opposition to the pact, but Republicans
from sugar-producing states such as Louisiana, Florida, Montana
and Idaho continue to have concerns.