Amid partisan battle and opposition from anti-globalization groups, the U.S. Congress approved the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and sent it to President Bush for final authorization. If approved, the pact will eliminate tariffs on 80 percent of U.S. exports to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.

Proponents of CAFTA say the measure would guarantee a level playing field in trade by increasing exports to the region now estimated at about $15 billion a year--a market bigger than India, Indonesia, and Russia combined. The American Farm Bureau Federation claims that CAFTA will enable American farmers to double their exports of dairy, cotton, grains, and other products; the National Association of Manufacturers said the agreement would add about $1 billion a year to the value of United States exports of manufactured goods.

But while CAFTA is expected to provide a boost to certain industries, opposition groups fear that the agreement will ultimately hurt the economy and the environment. Labor unions and various consumer groups argue that trade agreements like CAFTA enable companies to move jobs overseas and hurt industries such as textile and sugar. These groups feel that CAFTA is potentially detrimental to the environment and unlikely to provide protection for workers in Central America. Such worries are representative of general fears expressed by the anti-free trade movement over globalization.