According to an April 12 article from Reuters News Service the White House may not be able to win congressional approval of a free trade agreement with five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic, a senior senator said on Tuesday. "This is the toughest bilateral agreement that I have had to get through the Senate," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, told reporters one day before his panel was scheduled to hold a hearing on the pact. "I don't know whether we'll be successful." Grassley, a strong supporter of the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, said the pact faced trouble because of concerns raised by sugar and textile producers who fear increased imports and unions who say the agreement's labor terms are too weak. CAFTA even faces significant opposition within the traditionally pro-trade Senate Finance Committee, which must approve the pact to send it to the floor for a vote.

"We've got our work to do in committee," Grassley said. CAFTA also faces an uphill battle in the U.S. House of Representatives. Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Robert Zoellick acknowledged last week as many as 30 to 40 Republicans in the closely divided House remain wary of CAFTA for a variety of reasons, including concerns about sugar and textiles. The Senate has long been viewed as more favorable terrain for the free trade pact than the House. However, Grassley's statement suggests the battle there could be as tough.