Bush pledges final hard push for Doha round

By Doug Palmer and David Alexander

LIMA (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush preached a message of "free markets, free trade and free people" on Saturday at his last international summit, pledging to use his remaining time in office to work toward a successful conclusion of a global trade deal.

"I recognize that I'm leaving office in two months but nevertheless this administration will push hard to put the modalities in place so that Doha can be completed and so we send a message we refuse to accept protectionism in the 21st century," Bush said in a speech to business executives at a summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

In a joint statement issued hours later, APEC heads of state said they were committed to reaching a breakthrough "next month" on difficult farm and manufacturing trade issues that have long blocked a deal in the seven-year-old Doha round of trade talks.

APEC leaders from 21 countries in Asia and the Americas, all around the Pacific Rim, also pledged not to raise new trade barriers for the next year.

The United States, China, Japan and other major APEC members also belong to the Group of 20 nations, which agreed last week in Washington to push for a breakthrough in the long-frustrated Doha round by the end of 2008 and to keep markets open.

"Now we've got to put those words into action," Bush told the executives before heading into closed-door meetings with APEC heads of state.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Doha came up in Bush's bilateral meetings during the day with the leaders of South Korea and Japan.

"Doha has come up in every meeting," she said. "There is a path to get Doha done. The president wants to walk it and make everyone walk it with him so that we can get this done in the next couple of months."

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso told Bush countries should push to finish the Doha round, a Japanese official said.

The APEC summit comes as world leaders are struggling to restore global economic health in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.

"I think we ought to focus our efforts on three great forces for economic growth: free markets, free trade and free people," Bush told the business leaders.

BUSH CRITICIZES CONGRESS

He welcomed Peru and Australia's decision to join the United States, Singapore, Chile and Brunei in negotiating a regional free-trade pact. He lashed out at the U.S. Congress for failing to approve three free-trade agreements with Colombia, South Korea and Panama before adjourning this week.

Bush told South Korean President Lee Myung-bak that he thought Congress had delayed the agreement with South Korea because "there's a backlash against free trade and ... he thinks we need to overcome it if we're going to overcome our economic challenges," Perino said.

The APEC leaders are expected to focus on common actions that countries can take to address the financial crisis and prevent another one from happening.