Fast Track Fallout -- Institute for Policy Studies

In the lead-up to the December 6 vote on fast track trade authority, Bush Administration officials claimed that if members of the House of Representatives rejected the bill, they would jeopardize negotiations around a hemisphere-wide trade deal. In an ironic twist, the passage of fast track appears to have created even more barriers to the formation of a Free Trade Area of the Americas.

According to IPS Director John Cavanagh, "The Bush Administration was determined to push through an extremely controversial bill instead of addressing the public's legitimate concerns about the current approach to globalization. As a result, they could only win by cutting last-minute deals that totally backfired by angering our key trading partners."

On December 10, Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso stated that the conditions attached to the fast track bill were so objectionable that "if taken literally, mean that there would be no FTAA." The lower house of Brazil's Congress went even further by unanimously passing a non-binding resolution calling for withdrawal from the FTAA negotiations.

In crisis-wracked Argentina, Foreign Minister Adalberto Rodriguez Giavarini told the Telam news agency that fast track will be an "obstacle" if "Argentine production and labor do not have a place" in the trade negotiations.

Brazil and Argentina were particularly upset about deals cut at the last minute to protect U.S. agricultural producers. The bill requires special consultations between negotiators and Congress before barriers could be lifted on "import-sensitive" agricultural products. These include a broad range of commodities, including sugar, citrus, beef, durum wheat and many cheeses, among others. Foreign trade partners see the multi-step consultation process laid out in the bill as a thinly veiled strategy for blocking trade liberalization in these areas.

The last-minute vote-buying also resulted in a protectionist deal that will affect Central American and Andean nations. Concerned about textile jobs in his district, Congressman Jim DeMint secured a promise from Republican leaders that they would use "whatever means necessary" to cancel some textile export preferences Congress had granted these nations as part of the Caribbean Basin Trade Preference Act. As a result, DeMint switched his vote in the final seconds to give the White House a one-vote win.

Sarah Anderson, director of IPS's Global Economy Project, stated, "the diverse coalition of labor, environmental, human rights and other activists that fought against fast track should feel proud that they made this such a close fight. In the end, fast track promoters were forced into shooting themselves in the foot."

The fast track bill allows the Executive Branch to negotiate trade deals that Congress can either accept or reject but cannot change. It now proceeds to the Senate, where it is expected to pass.

FAST TRACK FALLOUT Trade Experts say Bush Administration Lost by Winning

FAST TRACK FALLOUT
Trade Experts say Bush Administration Lost by Winning