FACTBOX: McCain, Obama plans on trade policy
(Reuters) - The U.S. presidential election in November will be a face-off between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.
Following are some of McCain's and Obama's main positions on trade -- a contentious issue in this election.
REPUBLICAN SEN. JOHN MCCAIN OF ARIZONA
* Supports free trade pacts with Colombia, South Korea and Panama and negotiating a new free trade pact with the 27 nations of the European Union.
* Opposes changing NAFTA agreement.
* Favors opening new trade markets, but also advocates education and retraining for workers displaced by global trade.
* Has proposed partnerships with community colleges to retrain displaced workers and proposed providing income assistance to those who find jobs that pay less.
DEMOCRATIC SEN. BARACK OBAMA OF ILLINOIS
* Urged renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement to strengthen provisions on labor and environment. Warned of opting out of the treaty if Canada and Mexico refuse.
* Opposed free trade pacts with Colombia and South Korea, but supported an agreement with Peru.
* Supports pressuring World Trade Organization to better enforce agreements and halt government subsidies to foreign exporters and imposing other nontariff barriers on U.S. exports.
* Wants to revamp fast-track trade negotiating authority to require pre-screening of potential U.S. free trade partners based on their labor and environmental standards and other factors.
(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)
