MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US/Peru trade agreement supported by Democrats

The United States House of Representatives approved Thursday, in a 285 to 132 vote, a long delayed free-trade agreement with Peru, the first such accord passed by Congress since the opposition Democrats won control last year.

The measure which came to a vote only after Democrats got the President George Bush administration to toughen labor and environment provisions now goes to the Senate, which is likely to approve it. "We have to be concerned about the impact of trade, but we cannot turn our backs on it'' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said before the vote. The Peru agreement "is a marked difference from where we've been before. If you are ever to vote for any trade agreement, this would be the easiest one to do". Trade between the U.S. and Peru, which totaled 8.8 billion US dollars last year, will grow by 1.5 billion once the accord is implemented as Peru ships more asparagus and apparel and US producers export more meat and grain, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission. Advocates for and against free-trade agreements lobbied lawmakers vigorously, seeing it as a harbinger for the fate of three other pending free-trade agreements (Panama, Korea and Colombia) that are also awaiting congressional approval. Critics of the agreement said the opposition of many Democrats to the Peru accord, the least controversial of the pending pacts, makes it less likely the others will be approved. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel forced the Bush administration to renegotiate provisions in the accord, requiring Peru to amend the pact and rework its regulations for workers. Still, Pelosi and Rangel weren't able to convince a majority of their fellow Democrats to support the agreement as they voted split: 109 to and 116 against it. Previous accords with Bahrain, Australia and Morocco all garnered more Democratic votes. Peru, which has waited since the end of 2005 for this agreement to be approved, said removing trade barriers to the world's largest economy would allow it to attract new companies to set up factories and spur their booming economy. "This gives us a new ally for opportunities for business and investment" said Peru's Foreign Trade Minister Mercedes Araoz. The Bush administration and lobbyists from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Foreign Trade Council and other pro-trade groups lobbied hard on this vote to try to secure an overwhelming vote total, clearing the way for consideration of the other pending deals. However hurdles remain. Panama elected as president of its national assembly a man the U.S. accuses of murdering two US soldiers, which drew objections from both the State Department and lawmakers. South Korea hasn't fully opened its market to US beef, which Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus says is a prerequisite for considering that accord. Violence against labor leaders in Colombia has led the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor organization, and Democratic leaders to oppose that agreement. While the AFL-CIO didn't oppose the Peru accord, it vows to get accords with Colombia or Korea voted down.