Republicans prod Pelosi for action on trade deals
Republicans prod Pelosi for action on trade deals
Wed Sep 10, 2008
By Doug Palmer
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Bush administration, Republican lawmakers and business groups pressed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday to allow votes on free trade pacts with Colombia, Panama and South Korea by the end of the year.
At a time when exports are helping to keep the U.S. economy afloat, passing the trade pacts is "the single biggest thing we can do right now to keep our exports growing," U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said at a trade rally.
However, many Democratic voters in Rust Belt states like Ohio and Michigan believe trade agreements cost more jobs than they create, leading many Democratic politicians — including presidential candidate Barack Obama — to oppose the pacts.
Republican lawmakers accused Pelosi and other Democrats of failing to honor a deal they believed was supposed to lead to approval of the three agreements, as well as a fourth pact with Peru, which Congress approved in December.
"We have bargained with Democrats in good faith. We expect them to keep their end of the bargain and get these agreements approved," said Rep. Jim McCrery, a Louisiana Republican who played a leading role in forging the May 2007 deal that Pelosi and other top Democrats announced in her office.
That deal required the Bush administration to reopen negotiations with the four trading partners and add stronger labor and environmental provisions to each of the pacts.
Despite that action, U.S. labor groups have vigorously opposed the Colombia agreement on grounds that country has not done enough to stop violence against trade unionists.
The fight over the Colombia agreement came to a head when President George W. Bush ignored the advice of Democratic leaders and sent it to Congress.
Pelosi responded by pushing through a vote to indefinitely delay action on the pact. She has said Congress could return to the agreement if there is progress in other areas to help Americans cope with the current economic downturn.
"The speaker’s position has not changed. She has said she is open to a vote on Colombia, but only after Congress addresses domestic economic concerns — such as trade adjustment assistance and a second stimulus bill," Brendan Daly, a spokesman for Pelosi, said.
Republicans acknowledged there was little chance Congress would vote on any of the pacts in the few weeks remaining in the legislative calendar. But they urged Pelosi to hold a "lame duck" session after the November 4 election.
Colombian Trade Minister Luis Guillermo Plata, South Korean Ambassador Lee Tae-Sik and Panamanian Ambassador Federico Humbert Arias also spoke at the rally and said they were disappointed Congress has not approved the deals.
U.S. autoworkers and Ford Motor Co. have fought the South Korean agreement, which they feel does not do enough to level the auto trade playing field between the two countries.
The Panama agreement ran into trouble last year when Panama’s National Assembly selected a lawmaker wanted in the United States on murder charges as its leader.
That lawmaker recently stepped down, clearing the way for possible action on the least controversial of the three pacts. However, the White House has insisted Congress vote on the Colombia deal first.
