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President to ask Congress to give him 'fast track' negotiating authority
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush planned Monday to outline a set of principles for free trade as he renewed a quest to persuade Congress to give him trade negotiating authority.
The White House said Bush would offer "fresh new thinking" on free trade and the importance of trade promotion authority -- also known as "fast track" -- during a speech to the Council of the Americas, an influential business group.
Under the negotiating authority, Congress can vote up or down, but not amend, trade deals negotiated by Bush, who wants it to work out a free trade agreement for North and South America.
Bush is to make his formal request to Congress to give him the authority later this week. It faces an uncertain future on Capitol Hill.
Secretary of State Colin Powell, speaking to the Council of the Americas ahead of the president, said the Bush administration needs their help to persuade Congress to approve trade promotion authority.
"We ask you now to redouble your efforts," Powell said.
Powell said the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas would strengthen democracy throughout the region.
"Democracy and trade and free enterprise all go together. It's as simple as that," he said.
Bush's father had the fast track authority during his presidency, but it expired in 1994 under Bill Clinton and has never been renewed as lawmakers spar over how to handle labor and environmental issues associated with trade.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Bush would take up the fight against what he calls a "new kind of protectionism" rising around the globe.
"We will not let the forces of protectionism around the world defeat free trade," Fleischer told reporters.
At the Summit of the Americas meeting in Quebec City two weeks ago, Bush told regional leaders he was confident he would get trade promotion authority "before the end of the year" and promised to kick off the debate by outlining a set of principles when he returned to Washington.
In his speech, Bush said a "commitment to open trade must be matched by a strong commitment to protecting our environment and improving labor standards. Yet these concerns must not be an excuse for self-defeating protectionism."
Democrats generally want strong protection for labor and the environment as part of trade pacts, while Republicans are leery of including such provisions, fearing they could become obstacles to trade.
The standoff has prevented action on a U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement negotiated by the Clinton administration.
Bush was to make mention of the Jordan trade deal as well as a separate one with Singapore.
While the agreement is of little economic significance, Republicans fear that the text could open the door to the use of sanctions to enforce labor and environmental provisions.
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