Panama Moves to Top of Obama's List for a Trade Agreement

Chris Kraul
The Los Angeles Times
May 21, 2009

A frequent critic of NAFTA and other trade pacts when he was on the campaign trail, President Obama is now throwing his support behind a trade deal with Panama, courting a potential backlash among his labor supporters.

The administration is expected to make its case before a Senate Finance Committee hearing today in Washington, where his team is likely to face sharp questioning about Obama's change of heart on a deal the president now apparently views as a strategic imperative...

...Obama's turnabout also reflects his goals of rewarding strategic allies and confronting economic necessity, said Eric Farnsworth, a former Clinton administration official now with the Council of the Americas think tank in Washington.

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