Article: Moderates slam CAFTA

Yet another nail in the CAFTA coffin?

Moderate Dems Oppose Trade Agreement

Four Democratic moderates who are crucial swing votes in Republican efforts to win approval of a free trade pact with Central America said Wednesday they would oppose the agreement because of what they consider weak labor provisions.

"As ardent supporters of fair trade, we cannot support the existing proposal and we call upon the president to go back to the drawing board," said Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., chair of the centrist group New Democrat Coalition.

Tauscher was joined by Reps. Ron Kind, D-Wis., Artur Davis, D-Ala., and Adam Smith, D-Wash., in a letter to President Bush saying they could not support the Central American Free Trade Agreement. They cited what they called its weak approach to worker rights and the administration's inadequate backing for retraining programs for American workers suffering from the effects of trade.

The four joined the overwhelming majority of Democrats who fault what is called the CAFTA agreement because they say it does little to change labor conditions in an area beset by low wages, child labor and suppression of unions.

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