Adios free trade?

• Position: Political aspects - Brief article

Senior Bush trade officials and Democratic trade strategists both confirm that, until recently, trade discussions between the Administration and Capitol Hill had progressed significantly better than expected. Says a senior U.S. Treasury official: "[House Ways and Means Chairman] Charlie Rangel and [Senate Finance Committee Chairman] Max Baucus had approached the discussions with the utmost seriousness. They demanded a lot and the Administration gave on a number of points, but we were right at the doorstep of some free trade breakthroughs. Then [House Speaker] Pelosi and...