CAFTA Passes.barely

From Ben Muse, my regular source on international trade policy,

At bedtime in Juneau (about 11 PM) the Washington Post is reporting that the House approved CAFTA 217 to 215: Trade Pact Approved By House .

Apparently it wasn't pretty:

To win, the White House and GOP congressional leaders had to overcome resistance from dozens of Republican members who were also concerned about the agreement because of issues ranging from the perceived threat to the U.S. sugar industry to more general worries about the impact of global trade on U.S. jobs...

It is apparently so difficult to win over the vested interests with comparative advantage arguments that voting-rule games must be played to win:

When time for the vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement expired at 11:17 p.m., the nays outnumbered the yeas by 180 to 175. But, a few minutes past midnight, the GOP leadership, ignoring Democratic protests that the rules were being violated, had rounded up enough votes to win by 217 to 215...

Maybe, just maybe, the sugar lobby will continue to lose some of its power.