CAFTA deserves to pass

By Alex Singleton | 25 July 2005

Sebastian Mallaby writes in today's Washington Post:

[I don't] pretend that the CAFTA deal is perfect. U.S. sugar barons have preserved their cherished quotas almost totally intact, protecting their profits at the expense of Central American exporters and American consumers (but the barons are still lobbying against the deal anyway). Big Pharma has pushed for limits on Central American access to generic drugs, lending credence to the claim that trade deals are a corporate plot against consumers.

But, for all its flaws, CAFTA deserves to pass the House. A University of Michigan study found that it would increase U.S. gross domestic product by a modest 0.2 percent and boost Central America's by a substantial 4.4 percent. The study also found that CAFTA would create nearly 300,000 new jobs in Central America in textiles, apparel and footwear. How can Democrats who care about workers possibly vote against this?