. . . A number of Republicans who represent once-Democratic southern congressional districts heavily dependent on agricultural subsidies and tariff and quota protections for textiles also object to the treaty.

The leaders of the Republican opposition to CAFTA are Reps. Walter B. Jones Jr. (N.C.) and Virgil H. Goode Jr. (Va.), both former Democrats. A substantial number of Republicans have declared they will defect from the White House agenda. Others are under intense pressure to cast "no" votes from the sugar industry and segments of the beef and textile industries concerned about increased competition from Central America. . .

Under CAFTA, the United States would make permanent the temporary suspension of tariffs set by the Caribbean Basin Initiative. In return, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua would reduce or eliminate tariffs on most imports, open state monopolies to foreign competition, and remove legal barriers to foreign investment.

Get the picture? Apparently the idea of your paying lower prices on sugar—thanks to competition—is a bad idea. As Cato Institute trade policy specialist Dan Griswold notes, if you live in the United States, you pay about three times the world price for sugar, on average. Think about that the next time you buy your Frosted Flakes.

Moreover, this bipartisan group of mercantilists is seemingly oblivious to how moveable the textile industry, for example, can be. They also don’t seem to realize that the U.S. exported $2.6 billion of textiles to these six countries last year, a fact also noted by Mr. Griswold.

Further, it’s apparently a bad idea to encourage investment from U.S. companies in these countries and to encourage them to practice free market capitalism.

This group of countries has lived with much strife and violence over decades. In 1969, El Salvador and Honduras went to war, after which it took a decade to normalize relations. (It’s known as the “Football War,” but this conflict was only inflamed by soccer; the real tensions were economic.) El Salvador and Nicaragua have had civil wars during the last 25 years in which the United States has intervened.

Now that these countries seek the leadership of the United States in furthering their efforts at economic liberalization and freer markets, the U.S. Congress is ready to say, "forget it."

Dan Griswold has written extensively on this subject, and his "The Case for CAFTA" will give you detailed analysis on the virtues of this agreement.

Let me offer a very simple perspective on this trade agreement. The six countries which are part of this agreement, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, have a combined GDP roughly equal to that of the gross state product of Tennessee. (You can find gross state product statistics by following this link to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.)

The two smallest economies among these countries, Honduras and Nicaragua, roughly equal the gross state product of South Dakota.

What are we scared of?