College
Park, MD: A plurality of
Americans has shown support for the Central American
Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) that US Trade
Representative Robert Zoellick will sign on May
28th.
In a PIPA/Knowledge Networks
poll conducted in January of this year, respondents
were told that "the US and some
countries of Central
America have negotiated a treaty
called the Central American Free Trade Agreement
(CAFTA) that is similar to what the
US now has with
Mexico and
Canada in NAFTA."A
plurality of 49% said they would favor it, with 42%
opposed.
Interestingly, Democrats were
more likely to support CAFTA than Republicans.
Fifty-three percent of Democrats favored it (41%
opposed), while 48% of Republicans were in support
(45% opposed). Among the politically important
independents, 51% were in favor with 39% opposed.
While no regional differences
were evident, support in swing states was a bit lower.
Only 44% supported CAFTA while 46% were opposed. Among
those who say they vote, support was even lower at
40%, with 52% opposing it.
Support for CAFTA was also
closely tied to feelings about job security in a
globalizing world. Among the three in ten who said
globalization has had a negative effect on their job
security, 60% oppose CAFTA, and only 31% favor CAFTA.
Support for CAFTA rises to 56%, however, among those
who said globalization has had, on balance, no effect
on their job security. Among those who said
globalization has had a positive effect on their job
security, 74% favor CAFTA.
This support for CAFTA is
approximately the same as support for NAFTA. Asked "Do
you think the North America Free Trade Agreement,
NAFTA, has been good or bad for the
United
States?"47% said it has been
good, while 39% said it
has been bad.
These findings were part of a
larger PIPA/KN study entitled "Americans on
Globalization, Trade, and Farm
Subsidies."The PIPA/KN poll was conducted with a
nationwide sample of 1,896 respondents from December
19 to January 5. The margin of error was plus or minus
2.3%-4%, depending on whether the question was
administered to the whole sample, two thirds, half, or
one third of the sample.
To view the full report and
questionnaire, please go to http://www.pipa.org
The poll was fielded by
Knowledge Networks using its nationwide panel, which
is randomly selected from the entire adult population
and subsequently provided internet access. For more
information about this methodology, go to www.knowledgenetworks.com/ganp.
Funding for this research was
provided by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Ford
Foundation.
