As the United States Congress begins to debate the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), a titanic struggle between the forces of free trade and protectionism promises to unfold. But that debate should not be allowed to mask the truth behind this treaty: the DR-CAFTA is more a pleading of special interests than a free-trade deal. It manages simultaneously to fleece the people of six poor countries and to put US workers in harm’s way.
As the United States Congress begins to debate the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), a titanic struggle between the forces of free trade and protectionism promises to unfold. But that debate should not be allowed to mask the truth behind this treaty: the DR-CAFTA is more a pleading of special interests than a free-trade deal. It manages simultaneously to fleece the people of six poor countries and to put US workers in harm’s way.