McCain Arrives in Mexico for Free Trade Push


By Jeff Mason, Reuters
July 3, 2008

Article Excerpts:

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -- U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain arrived in Mexico on Wednesday to promote free trade after his visit to Colombia coincided with the daring rescue of 15 hostages from leftist rebels.

McCain, who will face Democrat Barack Obama in the November 4 election, used his short trip to the region to draw contrasts with his rival, who has opposed a free trade agreement with Colombia. . . .

His push abroad for congressional approval of a stalled U.S.-Colombian free trade agreement carried political risks as voters in battleground states like Ohio and Michigan have been disenchanted by policies that have permitted manufacturers to ship jobs to countries where labor is cheaper.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe called McCain during the Arizona senator's flight to Mexico City to confirm troops had rescued French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, three Americans and 11 other hostages from leftist guerrillas who had held them for years in secret jungle camps.

Uribe and his defense minister pulled aside McCain and the two senators traveling with him on Tuesday night to inform them of the planned rescue, he said.

"This is great news," McCain told reporters on his plane. "Now we will renew our efforts to free all of the others, innocent people who are unlawfully being held hostage."

FREE TRADE PUSH

McCain called for the release of hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or the FARC, at an earlier news conference. But he emphasized on the plane the timing of the operation was not related to his visit.

In Mexico, McCain is due to meet President Felipe Calderon on Thursday, when trade and immigration will top the agenda.

McCain was joined on his trip by two close Senate colleagues, Independent Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

All three urged the U.S. Congress to vote on the Colombia free trade pact, which they said would benefit the U.S. economy and reward Uribe, a strong U.S. ally.

"I am convinced that the Colombia Free Trade Agreement is good for America," Graham said, adding he was not always in favor of free trade because his state had suffered job losses in the textile industry.

McCain said he would help those Americans who lost their jobs to foreign trade to get training for new jobs.

"I am committed to getting every single American who has been displaced from his or her job by foreign competition . . . a new job and a better future," McCain said.

McCain has avoided attacks on Obama while in foreign countries but that self-imposed gag rule did not extend to his plane. On the flight to Cartagena on Monday night, he called Obama a trade "protectionist."

His campaign advisers have questioned Obama's newfound commitment to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). . . .

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