Obama meets with Becerra about trade job

CHICAGO, Dec 4 (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama met on Thursday with California Rep. Xavier Becerra to discuss the job of chief trade negotiator, a Democratic source said.

Becerra, who has a record of caution on international trade agreements, is a leading contender for the U.S. trade representative position. He would be the first Hispanic to hold the job.

The meeting was in Obama's hometown of Chicago, where the president-elect is making decisions about his Cabinet.

Viewed as a friend of U.S. labor groups, Becerra now serves on the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over trade.

He voted against the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) in 2005 and this year joined Democrats in voting to block consideration of a free trade agreement with Colombia.

But he has supported some other trade deals, and some U.S. business groups have given supportive comments about his candidacy.

(Reporting by Caren Bohan, Editing by Sandra Maler)