The Breakdown in the Bipartisan Consensus on Trade

Ed Lorenzen
May 11, 2005
 

The decision of the leaders of the New Democratic Coalition to oppose the Dominican Republic – Central American Free Trade Agreement was a disappointing departure from the constructive role centrist Democrats have played in previous trade bills.   But the announcement should serve as a wake up call to the administration and supporters of free trade in the business community about the need to rebuild the bipartisan consensus around trade.

 

The NDC leaders raised several important substantive issues in a letter to the President and accompanying press release that should be addressed.  Unfortunately, by coming out against the agreement before it has been formally submitted to Congress and taking a visible role in opposition to the agreement, the NDC leaders sacrificed their ability to address those concerns.    Hopefully other pro-trade Democrats who have not publicly taken a position on CAFTA can use their leverage to address these issues.

 

Although the letter calls on the administration to reopen the agreement, the concerns raised in the letter could be addressed without reopening the agreement.  The NDC leaders cite the lack of investment in education, skills training and development as a reason for their opposition. These investments should be a critical part of our trade and competitiveness policies and deserve much greater attention than they have received. These concerns, however, could be addressed as part of implementing legislation without reopening the agreement.  For example Senator Max Baucus and other pro-trade Democrats successfully fought for expansion of Trade Adjustment Assistance as a condition for their support of legislation granting the President Trade Promotion Authority. 

 

Even the concerns about the labor protections in the agreement are less about the actual text of the agreement – which contains labor protections as strong or stronger than previous trade agreement – and more about doubts about how aggressively the administration will enforce these provisions.  Pro-trade Democrats should use their leverage to gain commitments from the administration about how the worker rights provisions in the agreement will be enforced.

 

The broader issue raised in the letter about the breakdown in the bipartisan consensus on trade should not be dismissed lightly.  The continuing decline in the number of Democrats supporting trade agreements should send a clear message to the administration that they need to make a much greater effort to reach out to Democrats throughout the process of negotiating trade agreements.  On this and many other issues the administration does not seriously reach out to Democrats until their votes are needed and the major policy decisions have been made.  Whether or not CAFTA is approved, the administration must make a serious and concerted effort to work with pro-trade Democrats to craft trade and economic policies that will restore the bipartisan consensus on trade.