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Bush presses Republicans for CAFTA victory

Posted on: Wednesday, 27 July 2005, 20:13 CDT

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.

Source: REUTERS

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