Costa Rica Backs US Trade Deal by Slim Margin

Costa Rican voters narrowly approved a free-trade pact with the US last night, despite polls predicting they would quash it, the AP reports. With nearly 89%  of precincts counted, 52% favored the Central American Free Trade Agreement, and Costa Rican President Oscar Arias declared victory. Costa Rica is the last of the six signers to have ratified the treaty.

After a heated campaign over whether opening Costa Rican markets would bring economic development or exacerbate poverty, opponents refused to acknowledge defeat until a  recount is performed. The White House,  which waged a bruising battle to get the pact through Congress, warned that they would not renegotiate if turned down, and threatened not to renew existing trade preferences that expire next September. (More Costa Rica stories.)