Deputy USTR eyes Andean trade deal soon
Reuters
Deputy USTR eyes Andean trade deal soon
21 March 2007
By Doug Palmer
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration hopes to reach a deal with U.S. lawmakers in the next 10 days that would pave the way for approval of free trade pacts with Peru, Colombia and Panama, a top U.S. trade official said on Wednesday.
"We’re working with Chairman (Rep. Charles) Rangel and others to reach an understanding as quickly as possible and it’s certainly our hope that we can reach that this month," Deputy U.S. Trade Representative John Veroneau said in an interview at the Reuters Latin American Investment Summit.
The United States signed the free trade agreements with Peru and Colombia last year and completed free trade talks with Panama in December, except for the labor chapter.
Some Democrats are unhappy with the labor provisions of the Peru and Colombia agreements. They want all three pacts to include an enforceable commitment to abide by core international labor standards, such as the freedom to organize and bargain collectively and freedom from workplace discrimination.
U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab has been working with House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, a New York Democrat, and the top Republican on that panel, Rep. Jim McCrery of Louisiana, to fashion new labor provisions for the trade pacts.
Veroneau said he had no new progress to report in those talks, but the administration still believed it could strike a deal to allow all three agreements to pass with broad bipartisan support.
The AFL-CIO, the largest U.S. labor organization, said last week it did not believe the trade agreement with Colombia could be changed to its satisfaction because of that country’s "atrocious" record of violence against unionists.
