Article: Free-trade deals falter; President-elect opposes pacts that would benefit Caterpillar, Deere.(News)

Byline: BOB TITA

Free-trade deals benefiting Caterpillar Inc., Deere & Co. and other Illinois exporters are losing momentum as President-elect Barack Obama prepares to take office.

U.S. trade pacts pushed by the Bush administration with Colombia, Panama and South Korea are pending. But those agreements face long odds under the administration of Mr. Obama, who is expected to make good on a campaign pledge to hold U.S. trading partners more accountable for enforcement of labor and environmental regulations. The agreements have no enforcement mechanisms, critics say.

As long as the U.S. economy remains in a recession, neither Mr. Obama nor the ...

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