AHUGE sigh of relief ought to have been the immediate Asian reaction to the passing of the North American Free Trade Agreement by the United States House of Representatives on Wednesday.
Because the US Senate is expected to concur when it votes on the agreement, and because the new Canadian Government is not expected to reverse its previous ratification, despite its election promises, NAFTA will come into being on January 1 1994.
Then, over the next 15 years, nearly all tariffs will be removed on trade between Canada, the US and Mexico.
First and foremost, the Asian sigh of relief should be because the House did not hand President Bill Clinton the worst defeat of a presidential foreign policy initiative since President Woodrow Wilson suffered Congressional rejection of the League of Nations in 1920.
For Asia, such a defeat would have meant the real risk that protectionist sentiments, which have fuelled the opposition to NAFTA, after that one striking success would seek more - with Asian trading interests a likely target.
A defeat would also have been a signal of isolationism gaining ground in the US, a matter of deep concern given that most Asian states want US involvement to continue to buttress Asian security.
