[nicky g]

CAFTA is not all about free trade. For instance I understand it contains "intellectual property" provisions which will restrict access to generic drugs in Central America and which ardently pro-free trade economists such as Jagdish Bhagwati have pointed out is not a free trade issue and arguably a restriction on trade. Furthermore, as these agreements rarely liberalise trade fully, and contain all sorts of qualifications, hedges and so on, it makes sense to look at them in details and see if everyone is really benefiting equally/liberalising equally. There are good and bad ways to go about "freeing" trade.

Although I would imagine many Democrat politicians are opposing CAFTA for simple populist/protectionist reasons, you can't simply call a complex agreement "free trade" and then say it's a no-brainer. You have to look at what it actually says.