Can’t say I fault his reasoning:
ABC News’ Teddy Davis Reports: Saying that he has come to the realization that trade is not a priority for the incoming Obama administration, Rep. Xavier Becerra has decided not to accept Barack Obama’s offer to be United States Trade Representative, according to an interview the California Democrat gave to the editorial board of La Opinion, a Spanish-language newspaper in Los Angeles.
“Mi preocupación es qué tanto peso hubiera tenido esta posición y llegué a la conclusión de que no sería prioridad número uno, quizá ni siquiera dos o tres,” Becerra told La Opinion.Translated to English, Becerra said, “My concern was how much weight this position [U.S. Trade Representative] would have and I came to the conclusion that it would not be priority No. 1, and perhaps, not even priority No. 2 or 3.”
A president more favorable to trade would understand that a successful conclusion to the Doha Round resulting in a major market-opening agreement would provide a bigger boost to the economy than borrowing and spending several hundred billion dollars on roads and bridges. Such a president would make trade a top priority. But Becerra is right — that’s not Barack Obama.
It’s not as if trade advocates were jumping for joy at the prospect of USTR Becerra — he says he regrets voting for NAFTA, he voted against CAFTA, etc. — but Obama could have done worse. If Becerra’s sentiment is widely shared, he probably will.