US Trade Policy: Obama's Sticky Trip To El Salvador

[Judi Lynn]

US Trade Policy: Obama's Sticky Trip To El Salvador
Tuesday 22 March 2011

by: Kevin P. Gallagher | Triple Crisis | Op-Ed

United States President Barack Obama will travel to El Salvador this week. Coming into office, Obama seemed to be more in tune with Latin America in terms of economic policy than his predecessor. In recent weeks, however, Obama has done an about-face and his economic policy toward Latin America is now worse than the draconian policies of George Bush.
The Bush-era was marked by attempts to push NAFTA-style trade treaties in Latin America, despite NAFTA’s poor record in Mexico and the rejection of the Washington Consensus in Latin America. Many nations rejected this push—with Brazil shutting down negotiations for a Free Trade Area of the Americas, and Ecuador, Uruquay, and Bolivia pulling out of negotiations with the US.
One deal that did get through was the Central American Free Trace Agreement (CAFTA), passing in the US Congress by just one vote. Barack Obama voted against CAFTA because, among other things, it did “little to address enforcement of basic environmental standards in the Central American countries.”

Obama was right that things wouldn’t work out so well under CAFTA.

http://www.truth-out.org/obamas-sticky-trip-to-el-salvador68727