Bush urges approval of trade pacts

miami -- Amid signs that Americans are more skeptical about free trade, President Bush pressed Congress on Friday to act on four commercial pacts with other nations, contending that they would invigorate the U.S. economy and create jobs.

The president said the deals with Peru, Panama, Colombia and South Korea also would encourage democratic progress in regions crucial to U.S. security.

“It is the time to move forward with these pro-growth, pro-democracy agreements,” Bush said. “And the stakes are high.”

The proposed agreements with the three Latin American countries offer “an historic opportunity to strengthen our economy at home and advance democracy and prosperity throughout our hemisphere,” he said.

Bush’s speech, to business and community leaders in a city that is the hub of U.S. commerce with Latin America, capped a week of intensive campaigning by top administration officials to reignite the president’s free-trade agenda.

It also came during a week of good trade news for him. Costa Rican voters backed a trade agreement with the United States, and record U.S. exports in August shrank the trade deficit to its lowest level since January.

Bush has implemented trade deals with 11 counties, most in Central and South America. But World Trade Organization talks that would more dramatically open global markets have stagnated. He also confronts waning enthusiasm for free trade domestically and opposition from key congressional Democrats to three of the pending trade agreements.

The pact with Peru, which a Senate committee recently approved, is likely to clear Congress this year.

But the Panama deal ran aground when the country’s legislature elected a leader wanted in the United States for murder. Leading Democrats may block the accord with Colombia because they say the country has not done enough to combat violence within its borders.

The deal with South Korea also has encountered stiff opposition from Democrats, who say it would fail to pry open that country’s market for U.S. beef and autos, among other products.

“I think the administration is quite concerned and being realistic that they’ve got a major boulder to push up this hill,” said Mickey Kantor, who as President Clinton’s top trade negotiator in 1993 helped cajole Congress into passing the controversial North American Free Trade Agreement.

Kantor faulted Bush for not vigorously making the case for free trade.

“I’m delighted the president is going out and trying to push, but he has not been engaged over the seven years” of his administration, he said.

A survey released last week by the Pew Research Center showed Americans were less positive about the benefits of trade than the citizens of 46 other countries. It found that 59% viewed the commerce as good for the economy, a steep drop from 78% in 2002.

Bush acknowledged the fear that free trade would have Americans “flipping hamburgers” had turned many against international agreements.

“There is a protectionist sentiment that is beginning to gain strength in America and in Congress,” he said, later noting, “Many of our citizens feel uneasy about competition and they worry that trade will cost jobs.”

Citing the growth in U.S. exports to countries that have signed trade deals with the United States, he contended that these agreements led to more higher-paying jobs.

“When trade expands, American workers gain,” he said.

Referring to Miami’s trademark moniker, Bush said he had traveled to the “Gateway to the Americas” because the city’s vibrant economy showcased his argument.

“In Miami, you know what I’m talking about,” he said. “You see the value of trade every day.”

The administration appears to have launched a full-court press to sell its trade deals.

Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez is in Colombia, leading a delegation of congressional fence-sitters in hopes of winning their support for the pact with that country. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke Tuesday at the Organization of American States, saying that the Latin American trade agreements were crucial if the U.S. was to assert leadership in the region.

And U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab spoke to business leaders Thursday in Miami and Friday in New York.

The president’s 27-minute speech Friday sparked a sustained standing ovation when he said, “The vision I have for our hemisphere includes a free and democratic Cuba.” When the applause stopped, he called for Cuba to free political prisoners and hold democratic elections.

Most imports from Peru, Panama and Colombia now enter the U.S. duty-free. The trade agreements would give the same benefit to most U.S. exports. The United States is the largest trading partner for those countries, which make up a fraction of U.S. trade.

In a veiled reference to his chief antagonist in the region, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Bush said the pending Latin American agreements would “counter the false populism promoted by some nations in the hemisphere.”

The Peru agreement is queued up to pass because the administration agreed to add provisions long-advocated by Democrats to bring that country’s labor and environmental laws up to international standards.

Rep. Sander M. Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of a trade subcommittee, said the Peru deal would set a precedent.

Not so, said Rep. Michael H. Michaud, a Democrat who represents northern Maine and is working to defeat the Peru deal.

Michaud said the pact’s labor and environmental provisions could not be enforced.

The Panama deal was to be reviewed by Congress but has hit a snag. Pedro Miguel Gonzalez, the new president of Panama’s National Assembly, was indicted in the U.S. in the 1992 murder of a U.S. soldier.

Bush in his speech did not specifically urge Congress to pass the Panama agreement, saying only that he would work “to address the issues necessary to get it approved.”

But he pressed hard for the deal with Colombia, saying that it would aid “one of America’s strongest allies” which “has been under assault by a formidable network of terrorists and drug traffickers.”

The president briefly mentioned the South Korean agreement, saying it would “strengthen our relationship with a democratic ally in a critical part of the world.”

South Korea, unlike the Latin American countries, is a major trading partner with the U.S.

In opposing the agreement, Democrats say it would fail to dismantle South Korean trade barriers, particularly those that make it difficult for U.S. automakers to sell their cars there.

“The basic assumption of a lot of people, including this administration, is that one-way streets will turn into two-way streets,” Levin said. “We say that’s not true.”

john.hoeffel@latimes.com