Which John Kerry Will Shape U.S. Trade Policy?

According to Daniel T. Griswold, when it comes to shaping America's trade policy toward China and the rest of the world, it remains unclear which John Kerry would report for duty next January if he's elected president. As senator, Kerry has compiled an impressive record of support for free trade, including voting in favor of every major trade bill to come before Congress. As presidential canidate, however, Kerry has called for "enforceable labor and environmental standards at the core of every trade agreement," skipping over the fact that most developing countries in the WTO have made it perfectly clear that they will not sign agreements that contain such language. Kerry stated in his July speech, "We will trade and compete in the world. But our plan calls for a fair playing field." To make this happen Kerry has proposed reviewing and re-opening existing agreements and aggressive use of the Super 301 trade law that threatens other countries with unilateral U.S. sanctions. Although trade policy will probably not be affected as much as Kerry says, according to Griswold, it will change under a Kerry presidency. The price may be fewer bilateral and regional trade agreements, and probably none with less developed countries where labor and environmental standards would be an issue.

http://www.freetrade.org/pubs/articles/dg-08-18-04.html