The Candidates on the Issues

The Basics
•Back free-trade agreement with Colombia?
•Boost enforcement of existing trade rules?
•Favor 2005 Central American Free Trade Agreement?

McCain
•Calls it is a "no-brainer" that would save the U.S. money and increase the stability of an ally
•Emphasizes benefits of trade but says he'll "build effective enforcement of global trading rules"
•Voted for it, reflecting his general open-market approach

Obama
•Opposes it because of Colombia's continuing record of violence against unions
•Says he'll "pressure the World Trade Organization to enforce trade agreements"
•Voted against it because of inadequate labor and environmental protections

The Big Question:
Should the U.S. renegotiate NAFTA and other trade agreements to help American workers?

MCCAIN

NO: Withdrawal from nafta would be a giant step backward for American workers and would strain our relationships with our next-door neighbors, Mexico and Canada. I know, however, that trade is not always good for everyone. The answer to that problem is not closing foreign markets to American products but upgrading and reforming our unemployment-insurance policy for the 21st century and creating a tax and regulatory climate in America that encourages job creation and entrepreneurship.

OBAMA

YES: I will work with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to fix nafta so that it works for American workers. I believe that nafta and its potential were oversold to the American people. It has not created the jobs and wealth that were promised. We can, and must, make trade work for American workers by opening up foreign markets to U.S. goods and maintaining strong labor and environmental standards. As President, I will work to amend nafta so that it lives up to those important principles.