document: KEY Hispanic groups in the US are making stringent side agreements , aimed at protecting worker rights and the environment , a condition of their support for the North American Trade Agreement between the US , Canada and Mexico . Several Hispanic leaders said last week that the Clinton administration also had to present a ` blueprint ' of a plan to retrain displaced workers before they would give their support . The announcement will deal a blow to supporters of Nafta , who counted on Hispanic backing to get the agreement through Congress . But the US Hispanic community is deeply divided over whether to endorse the agreement . Mr Richard Lopez , an aide to the congressional Hispanic caucus , said last week that differing opinion had prevented the group taking an official position on Nafta . Leaders of important Hispanic coalitions such as La Raza , a civil rights group , and the Southwest Voter Registration Project said they feared Hispanics in the US would bear the brunt of the negative impact of Nafta . ` The most competitive sectors on both sides of the border would win , ' said Prof Raul Hinojosa , of the University of California in Los Angeles and a leader of the Southwest Voter Registration Project . ` Trade would produce job growth on both sides of the border , but the question is how those jobs are distributed . ` Those sectors of the US economy most vulnerable to import penetration are those sectors most dependent on recent immigration for their labour force . ' Fifteen Hispanic organisations , including La Raza , propose to set up a trilateral North American Development Bank to direct resources to regions of the US , Mexico and Canada most affected negatively by Nafta . However , business organisations like the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Hispanic Trade Council are enthusiastic backers of the deal . Mr Abel Guerra of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce said he feared side agreements dealing with issues on the environment and labour rights could jeopardise Nafta . ` It 's a giant opportunity we ca n't let go to waste , ' he said . At the other end of the spectrum lies Mr Segundo Mercado-Llorens of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union who is vehemently opposed to the current incarnation of Nafta . ' A vast majority of us -LRB- Hispanics -RRB- will be losers unless there are fundamental changes in the current Nafta , ' he said .
extractive_keyphrases: north american trade agreement stringent side agreements worker rights hispanic community negative impact trilateral north american development bank nafta key hispanic groups