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  Coleman, Kennedy back new trade pact
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ContributorEric 
Last EditedEric  Jun 30, 2005 10:28am
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MediaNewspaper - Star Tribune, The (Minneapolis - St. Paul)
News DateThursday, June 30, 2005 04:00:00 PM UTC0:0
DescriptionWASHINGTON, D.C. -- In a move that puts them at odds with the state's $2 billion-a-year sugar beet industry, two Minnesota Republicans -- Sen. Norm Coleman and Rep. Mark Kennedy -- sided with the Bush administration Wednesday in backing the proposed Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

The treaty would remove tariffs on U.S. exports to five Central American nations and the Dominican Republic. It has been vigorously opposed by the state's sugar industry, which fears cheap imports.

Coleman, who has sought a Republican leadership post in the Senate, and Kennedy, who is running for the Senate, announced their support for the treaty after more than a year of behind-the-scenes negotiations to address the concerns of farmers in western Minnesota, one of the nation's top sugar-producing regions.

White House deal

The announcements came after Coleman and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., said they had reached a deal with the administration that would limit overall sugar imports to 1.5 million short tons a year, the amount prescribed under the current farm subsidy law, which expires in 2007.
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