Gutierrez urges Congress set date for Colombia vote

By Doug Palmer

BALTIMORE (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez urged Congress on Friday to set a date for action on a controversial free-trade agreement with Colombia and a second pact with Panama that also has run into problems.

"We need to see a date and see a plan when the Colombian and Panamanian agreements will come up for a vote and that's what we're asking for," Gutierrez said at an event at the Port of Baltimore to highlight the importance of trade.

"Let's give it a vote. Let's give it a shot and that's where Congress needs to respond," he said.

The Bush administration is pleased a free-trade agreement with Peru appeared headed toward approval in Congress, Gutierrez said. But he warned progress in taming decades of violence in Colombia would be jeopardized if Congress fails to act on that agreement.

"Without the free-trade agreement, what we'll see is backsliding and that's not good for the hemisphere and that's not good for our country," Gutierrez said.

Despite Gutierrez' plea, an aide to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, said it was still too early to be setting dates for action on the Colombia and Panama pacts, as well as a third one with South Korea.

Those three deals still have "some difficulties that need ironing out. Chairman Baucus has said that we should consider these agreements when they are ready and should not rush any one agreement until it has solid support," the aide said.

The Colombia agreement is strongly opposed by the AFL-CIO labor federation, which calls Colombia the most dangerous country in the world for union members.

House Democratic leaders have insisted that Colombia make more progress in reducing violence and prosecuting murderers of trade unionist before Congress votes on the pact.

Both Gutierrez and U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said opposing the agreement made little sense since Colombia already has duty-free access to the U.S. market for most of its goods under a long-standing trade preference program that was renewed just a few months ago.

The agreement locks in that access, while requiring Colombia to open its market to U.S. goods.

"Earlier this year, 360 members of Congress voted to approve duty-free preferences for Peru and Colombia, voted for one-way free trade coming here, and did so for the right reason," Schwab said.

"It seems to me, you should be able to get at least that many members of Congress to vote to open the Peru, Panama and Colombian markets to U.S. exports," Schwab said.

The Bush administration is pushing for approval of the Panama agreement, even though Panama's National Assembly recently created a problem for the pact by electing as its leader Pedro Miguel Gonzalez, who is wanted in the United States on charges of killing a U.S. soldier in 1992.

Earlier this year, House Democrats indicated they would turn to the Panama agreement after finishing with Peru but its unclear whether they will stick to that plan.