Agencies

Washington, June 19:

US Congressional House and Senate committees voted in favour of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) this week, even as the former president of Costa Rica visited the US capital to deliver an impassioned plea against the pact. CAFTA, also known as DR-CAFTA, is still in a mock mark-up approval stage and faces overwhelming Democratic, and even some Republican, opposition in the broader US Congress. However, president Bush has declared the agreement this year’s top trade priority and is pressing for its ratification before lawmakers recess. “CAFTA has been advanced and promoted by the very few who would profit from it,”said Rodrigo Carazo Odio.