Bush Speaks on CAFTA
July 16, 2005
Yesterday President George W. Bush, delivered a speech (transcript) urging the House of Representatives to pass the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). The speech, delivered in Dallas, North Carolina, the home district of Republicans representing textile workers with concerns about potential job loss from CAFTA, was designed to gain support for the troubled trade agreement.
Bush argued that CAFTA is important for job creation and that it will help “secure democracy,” keeping with his current argument that CAFTA is a security issue affecting both economic and national security. Despite the fact that this argument has not appeared to resonate well, either with Democrats opposed to the deal or the general public, it is an argument that Bush continues to make. The speech was Bush's most extensive public comment on CAFTA to date.