Opponents of free trade argue that it helps multinational corporations at the expense of poor countries and the environment. It talks of workers while it opposes a major source of new jobs. It talks of the environment while opposing the wealth-creating policies that will pay for clean air and water in developing nations. It talks of the disadvantaged even as it offers ideas that would keep many of the poor in poverty. The challenges to the Administration's push for fast track authority were illustrated on Monday when almost two-thirds of the Senate sent a letter to Mr Bush arguing that America's unfair trade laws could not be negotiated away in trade deals.
Many trading partners see the laws as protectionist.
The Australian contingent lobbying for an agreement is closely watching the congressional debate, on which any Australian deal may hinge. Its eagerness for a trade agreement is generally supported in the Administration as a way to set benchmarks for a new global trading round in the World Trade Organisation, but it is not a top priority this year. The US trade representative, Mr Robert Zoellick, told the conference that approaches from many nations for bilateral agreements would be taken seriously, while the Administration focused on the Free Trade of the Americas, a plan to forge a huge trading zone from Alaska to Argentina by 2005. The first priority was completing a bilateral agreement with Chile and Singapore by the end of year, he said.