Bush official handicaps progress on trade pacts

Bush official handicaps progress on trade pacts Despite an antitrade political climate in the Democrat-controlled Congress and on the presidential campaign trail, the Bush administration is optimistic more trade deals are in the offing following the recent passage of a free trade agreement with Peru.
   The Senate last month passed the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement after the White House agreed to renegotiate for tougher labor and environmental standards.
   The trade pact, which will open up Peru’s market to U.S. farmers and manufacturers by significantly reducing tariffs, likely will enter into force at the end of the first quarter or early second quarter, according to an official speaking on background at a late November conference in Washington.
   In 2006, two-way trade between the United States and Peru reached $8.8 billion, with $2.9 billion coming from U.S. exports.
   The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is expected to enter into force for Costa Rica in the first quarter, the official said. The United States, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua signed the CAFTA-Dominican Republic agreement in August 2004, and President Bush signed legislation implementing the deal one year later. The Costa Rican legislature has approved the deal and the U.S. Trade Representative is reviewing that country’s regulations for carrying out the agreement.
   President Bush signed the U.S.-Oman free trade agreement into law in September 2006, but Oman has been slow to adopt implementing legislation. The administration is working with Omani government to make sure supporting laws conform to its trade obligations and hopes to bring the agreement into force by the middle of the year, the official said.
   The official said the administration hopes Congress will approve a pending free trade agreement with Colombia by mid-2008. Passage has been held up by concerns about violence against union activists. The administration has engaged with the Colombian government to remedy the situation and the government is now providing hundreds of union officials with bodyguards or armored vehicles, and has formed a special unit to investigate such killings, according to USA Today. That along with progress on labor rights amendments to the trade pact is beginning to change minds in Congress, the official said.
   Congress afterwards is expected to deliberate on a free trade agreement with Panama, but movement is uncertain as the presidential election heads into the final stretch during the fall, and because many members of Congress refuse to ratify the trade deal as long as the speaker of the Panamanian parliament — under U.S. indictment for the murder of a U.S. soldier stationed in Panama — remains in power.
   The White House is also keen to pass the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement, which also has come under opposition from U.S. labor groups. It is by far the most economically significant of recent or pending agreements because Korea is one of the largest trading partners with the United States. The key, according to the official, will be whether Korea relaxes restrictions on U.S. exports of beef enough to appease Congress.
   The United States is continuing to negotiate a trade deal with Malaysia, the official said. There have been no formal negotiations in the past nine months, but behind-the-scenes talks are ongoing. It's possible formal talks could resume early this year, the official added. Malaysia is a large export market, especially for U.S. information technology firms.
   Trade talks with Thailand were suspended after the coup there and are contingent upon the renewal of democratic rule, the official said.
   Ultimately, the final outcome of any trade deals hinges on U.S. politics, and approval could be difficult in a year when many Democratic presidential hopefuls are whipping up sentiment against U.S. trade policy they say is responsible for lost jobs and the undermining of middle-class living standards. ' Eric Kulisch