SAN FRANCISCO: Nowadays, most discussions about social policy are muddled by the notion that free trade hurts society. Everywhere you look, well-meaning groups see imports as a threat to their pet social programs, from welfare to environmental protection. The result? Strange alliances between the romantic and nationalist right, the green left, and self-interested parties such as trade unions appear to oppose free trade. In America, this new protectionist/social policy pact scored a big victory recently in derailing President Clinton’s request for so-called "fast-track" negotiating authority from Congress, which he intended to use in order to bring Chile into the North American Free Trade zone (NAFTA).
SAN FRANCISCO: Nowadays, most discussions about social policy are muddled by the notion that free trade hurts society. Everywhere you look, well-meaning groups see imports as a threat to their pet social programs, from welfare to environmental protection. The result? Strange alliances between the romantic and nationalist right, the green left, and self-interested parties such as trade unions appear to oppose free trade. In America, this new protectionist/social policy pact scored a big victory recently in derailing President Clinton’s request for so-called "fast-track" negotiating authority from Congress, which he intended to use in order to bring Chile into the North American Free Trade zone (NAFTA).