Congress Approves Two FTAs, Third's Fate Uncertain

ByJohn S. McClenahen During the 10 days before Congress left Washington, D.C., last week for a six-week recess, the House and Senate gave their approval to free-trade agreements (FTAs) between the U.S. and Australia and the U.S. and Morocco. However, the fate of the pending free-trade pact between the U.S. and several Central American nations -- the CAFTA -- is uncertain. There's some fear among legislators that approval of CAFTA would result in more U.S. manufacturing job losses and that could keep CAFTA from coming to a vote this high-stakes election year. The U.S. has completed FTAs with a total of 12 countries, including Australia and Morocco, and is negotiating with another 10 nations.