Closing the deal

Christmas comes early in Washington on the eve of a big trade vote, as members of Congress line up at the White House for their handouts. Before representatives can embrace free trade, their home districts need tender loving care, and Santa Bush has been particularly busy doling out goodies -- particularly to the textile lobby -- to gain support for the Central American Free Trade Agreement. This is a real cliffhanger. With a House vote expected as soon as today, the outcome isn’t yet clear. The Senate has already passed the trade deal.

It’s a sign of the times that so much is riding on a trade agreement with five small Central American nations plus the Dominican Republic, whose combined economic output is dwarfed by the state of Connecticut. This is a tough political environment for free trade, but if President Bush does not prevail on CAFTA, the U.S. will be abdicating its global economic leadership and undermining prospects for further growth and democratization in this hemisphere.

It is a disgrace that so many Democrats in the House are more eager to see Bush suffer a defeat than to do what is right. Their assertion that the outside world poses more of a threat than an opportunity to the U.S. is a betrayal of the lessons of Bill Clinton’s presidency. Area representatives such as Howard L. Berman -- and other California Democrats such as Anna G. Eshoo, who represents Silicon Valley -- should reject protectionism and vote for CAFTA.

This isn’t a pitch for charity. The U.S. stands to gain more than its partners. Currently, 80% of Central American products enter the U.S. without paying tariffs, whereas 40% of U.S. products enter the six countries duty-free. Further, the agreement already contains too many protections for this nation’s textile and sugar industries.

Then there is the regional imperative. From the 1980s on, Washington has called upon the people of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic to embrace the rule of law, to democratize institutions and to open their economies. Now that they have finally attained regional peace and stability and have undertaken the necessary reforms to tap into the global economy, it would be reckless for the U.S. to allow frightened protectionists to shut the door on them.

The time has come for Congress to resurrect the bipartisan postwar consensus that lowering trade barriers is good for the nation and good for the world economy.