Bush pushes Congress for trade deal
WASHINGTON - A concrete mixer. Crates of cauliflower. A
President Bush used a White House lawn stacked with props yesterday to press Congress to approve free-trade pacts with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea.
A concrete truck, earth-moving equipment, and a fire and rescue vehicle were rolled onto the South Lawn to give Bush a new backdrop for his latest speech lauding the upsides of free trade.
So far, Congress hasn't budged. Among lawmakers' concerns is the impact that free-trade deals will have on US workers, especially during lean economic times. Bush rebuffed that, saying that 40 percent of US economic growth last year came as a result of exports.
"For some in Washington, trade is a political issue," he said. "In other words, people think it makes good politics to say 'We're not going to let you trade.' "
"Those voices of pessimism and voices of protectionism must understand that oftentimes, opening up markets means the difference between giving employees a pay raise or a pay cut."
He cited American-made bicycles and bales of cotton, staged on the grass, as examples of a lopsided tariff structure the United States has with the three countries he is seeking to get into new trade agreements.
Bush said the House's decision to block a vote on a Colombia free-trade pact was a serious error. Democrats have cited the violence against organized labor in Colombia and differences with the administration over how to extend a program that helps US workers displaced by foreign competition.
