Free Trade Prospects Narrow in 2009

The Obama Administration continues to send mixed signals about how soon and how hard it will push for approval of pending Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) negotiated during the Bush Administration.Most analysts believe that the Panama FTA would be the first to be moved forward, then the Colombia FTA.  Action on the Panama agreement this year is considered by some possible, but increasingly unlikely.  There seems to be little chance of a vote on the Colombia FTA before 2010 despite a renewed lobbying campaign by the Colombian government and other supporters, including a particularly offensive “Colombian Hearts” campaign focused on New York and Washington, DC.

Events over the summer have underscored not only the ineffectiveness of Bush-era FTAs to protect worker rights (see story on the Guatemala CAFTA complaint) but also their inability to protect democracy in the face of a coup (see lead story on Honduras).