Senate approves CAFTA

July 4, 2005

Senate approves CAFTA

The following article is excerpted from the 1 July 2005 edition of “The Journal of Commerce”.

The U.S. Senate approved the Central American Free Trade Agreement by a vote of 54-45 late Thursday, clearing the second to last hurdle to implementation. The House of Representatives is planning its vote for sometime after July 11.

The vote in favor of the pact was the smallest margin for a trade agreement in the normally pro-trade Senate since 1993 when senators approved the North American Free Trade Agreement 61-38.

The future of the agreement, which includes five Central American nations and the Dominican Republic, now goes to the House, where the vote is viewed as a toss-up because of opposition from Democrats and from Republicans in states that rely on the sugar and textile industries. U.S. sugar producers lobbied against the deal because it allows a 50 percent increase in sugar imports over 15 years. …

The pact would end most tariffs on more than $33 billion in goods traded between the U.S. and Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. It would also make permanent the duty-free access to the U.S. that most products from Central America already enjoy.


Topic(s): 
Canadian Economy & Politics
Information Source: 
Canadian News Channel
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