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Path Is Cleared For Trade Deals
Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. hopes for more cooperation.
(By Stephanie Kuykendal -- Bloomberg News)
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"We want to see concrete progress in Colombia before we'll even consider a trade agreement," Lee said.
The White House and the Colombian government have been campaigning for congressional approval of the deal, elevating its passage to an issue of foreign policy. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, a steadfast Bush ally, is cast by his Washington supporters as a bulwark against drug trafficking and an antidote to the growing influence of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
This week, Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos warned that if Congress kills the trade deal, it would send a message that "this is how America treats its allies," while perhaps forcing his country "to reevaluate its relationship with the United States."
Yesterday's bipartisan compromise caught many interest groups by surprise, with labor and business associations generally withholding comment until they could review the details.
Business groups were concerned not only by the labor standards but also by changes in provisions that protect intellectual property. Under the terms of the compromise, trading partners would be allowed to disregard drug patents in the event of a public health crisis, a worry for pharmaceutical companies.
While Democrats and labor attained a long-standing goal in securing tougher labor standards, trade remains a divisive issue, a cause of concern for members of Congress from areas such as the South and Midwest where manufacturing has been assailed by overseas competition.
"Both sides are taking a gamble that they can bring their caucuses along," said Gary C. Hufbauer, a trade expert at the Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. "The administration will not find this particularly easy to sell to some of the Republicans, and the leadership in Congress will not find this easy to sell to some of its members."
But the people standing together yesterday in a room at the Capitol, speaking of bipartisan cooperation, underscored that a significant political balance had been struck.
Along with Paulson stood Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, who took the lead in negotiations for the Democrats. Also present was U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab, who led the talks for the administration.
"We need not be talking about a Republican trade policy or a Democratic trade policy, but rather an American trade policy," Schwab said.
