Even other Government departments involved in the negotiations have been given information only about their sections of the free-trade accord and not about the overall agreement.

Canadian lawyers, for instance, are expected to benefit from higher investments resulting from the free-trade accord with the United States.

She cited Congressional approval of a global free-trade accord last week and a bill two months ago that will allow more interstate banking.

Labor and environmental groups have announced that they will use the occasion as a referendum on all free-trade accords.

Negotiators in Geneva have been stalled for two years in trying to produce a global free-trade accord.

The workers themselves, who will bear much of the burden of the free-trade accord, see few ways to influence the outcome.

And experts predicted that the free-trade accord would not produce sudden changes.

American law requires that before the free-trade accord can be submitted to Congress, 40 industry groups must produce detailed evaluations of the pact.

It had a separate 1988 free-trade accord with the United States, five years before Nafta.

Bush administration officials say they want a free-trade accord with Middle East countries, and that's all to the good.