McCain continues his campaign for the free trade in Latin America. He is a strong supporter of NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, among the US, Canada and Mexico. When McCain went to Canada, Democratic presidential rival Barack Obama suggested he wet to promote the agreement rather than stay home and defend his views in places like Ohio and other states where NAFTA is blamed for shifting millions of manufacturing jobs to other countries. Obama is a critic of NAFTA and other free trade deals, and the issue was a flash point in his primary campaign against Hilary Clinton. As president, he has said he would push for enforceable labour and environmental standards in the agreement and might threaten to withdraw completely.
McCain insisted the trip to Latin America was not intended to be political and said he would not criticise Obama directly while abroad. He made a similar pledge when he visited Canada but took a swipe at the Democrat nonetheless, suggesting without using Obama's name that the Illinois senator's opposition to NAFTA was "nothing more than retreating behind protectionist wall".
