Media inquiries: Andrew Ryan
202.862.4870 (andrewryan@aei.org)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 16, 2007

Labor and business leaders alike claimed victory following last week’s trade deal which would allow existing trade agreements (i.e., deals with Peru and Panama) to go through, and, if it is finalized, could potentially give the President the authority to negotiate new trade accords (i.e., be a template for future agreements). What will the deal mean in practice? Claude Barfield, AEI’s resident expert on free-trade pacts, weighs in this morning on American.com with some answers. He says the new deal opens a fresh debate about how specific and how strong global labor standards really are. The piece explains what to watch for in the coming trade debate.

Claude Barfield can be contacted at 202.862.5879, cbarfield@aei.org, or through his assistant at 202.862.5940.

For additional media inquiries, please contact Andrew Ryan at 202.862.4870 or andrewryan@aei.org.

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