As negotiators have been working around the clock over the past week and a half in Geneva trying to hammer out a global trade deal at the World Trade Organisation, one thing looms in all their minds: How will the next president of the United States deal with trade policy?
If they want business as usual, John McCain is their man. The Brookings Institution has published a useful juxtaposition of the two candidates' positions on trade. Its clear from that analysis that McCain has never met a trade agreement he hasn't liked. He voted in favour of Nafta, Cafta and the US-Peru agreement, and he supports the US-Colombia and US-South Korea agreements religiously.
In stark contrast, Barack Obama was against Nafta (though he was not in the Senate to vote against it). Since in office he has voted against Cafta and does not support either agreement with Colombia or South Korea. He did, however, support the agreement with Peru.
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