Big Smiles, Real Teeth

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WORRIED THAT GROWING OPPOSITION IN CONGRESS could imperil the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiated by President George Bush last year, the Clinton Administration has promised to put "real teeth" in side agreements to the treaty to protect the environment and workers' rights. Negotiations on those issues got under way in Washington with smiles on all sides. Yet the U.S., Mexico and Canada immediately staked out divergent positions that make a quick accord unlikely.

Clinton supports NAFTA but wants to create a three-nation commission to monitor and possibly enforce treaty compliance. Canada and especially Mexico have warned that such a commission must not infringe on their sovereignty. If the opposing views can be reconciled before a tentative summer deadline, Congress could approve the world's largest free-trade zone by the end of 1993, creating a market with 360 million consumers and goods and services worth more than $6 trillion annually.