Taking the N out of NAFTA

WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Clinton kicked off an aggressive plan Wednesday to expand the North American Free Trade Agreement to all of democratic Latin America by 2005, by touting the economic successes of Chile. Appearing at a joint news conference with President Eduardo Frei, Clinton said the United States could not afford to sit by while other economic superpowers developed trade with Central and South America's democracies. "At the crossroads of trade among the world's most dynamic economies, Chile can be a cornerstone of the vibrant free-trade area we are working to build in our hemisphere," the President said. TIME's Adam Zagorin reports from Washington that bringing Chile into NAFTA has been on the Clinton agenda for a long time. "Chile is one of the more successful countries in Latin America economically," says Zagorin. "Rather than having to justify choosing a basket case, it will be much easier to persuade Congress that Chile is ready." If Clinton's vision is realized, the Americas would be the world's largest free-trade zone. Opponents of NAFTA and other free trade pacts say expanding the treaty would be irresponsible, contending that tens of thousands of jobs have been lost -- mostly to cheaper labor in Mexico -- while trade deficits with both Mexico and Canada have swollen since the treaty was ratified in 1993. Free trade opponents do have some bite in Congress: the Senate is holding up the appointment of Charlene Barshefsky, Clinton's nominee for U.S. trade representative, mostly because of her work on NAFTA. The pact with Chile could come before Congress in 1998, but Zagorin says it probably won't be ready until after the next election. Clinton is not waiting: He has already announced that Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman will travel to Chile to promote trade, while at the same time officials of both nations will begin negotiating an aviation agreement.