Campaign '04: Free trade has low profile in U.S. but impact abroad

Published: 2004-07-23

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In today's globalized world, the United States is the economic superpower, making free-market capitalism the only game in town for poor countries that want to carve out a bigger share of world trade. President Bush has continued the push of his predecessors for free trade agreements around the world, but discussion of the pros and cons of these agreements is not on the front burner in this year's presidential campaign. Yet the positions of Bush, the likely Republican nominee, and of Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, his expected Democratic opponent, have strong implications for the developing world; and the entire issue is of concern to church officials in the Americas. Bush and Kerry agree on trade pact goals that include creating jobs in the United States by opening up new world markets for U.S. goods. Import tariffs, which would be reduced under free trade agreements, currently make some U.S. products uncompetitive in other countries. The approach of church officials to free trade accords is different, said John Carr, head of the U.S. bishops' Department of Social Development and World Peace. Most U.S. politicians see trade agreements narrowly, looking to maximize the benefits for the country and to avoid the disadvantages, said Carr. Church officials take a "bottom-up" approach, concerned more with how such agreements affect the poor and vulnerable members in the countries involved, he said.

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