BUSH SEEKS TO SLASH COLOMBIA TRADE TARIFFS

The President Has a Slim Chance of Winning Congressional Approval of
the Pact. It Would Open Markets in Colombia for a Wide Array of U.S.
Goods, He Says.

WASHINGTON -- Facing what are widely seen as long odds, President
Bush on Monday began the contentious process of trying to win
congressional approval of a free trade agreement with Colombia that
critics, including many in the Democratic majority on Capitol Hill,
say does not do enough to protect workers here or in the South American nation.

The Bush administration argues that the measure would benefit
Americans by opening a large market to U.S. goods and would reward a
Latin American ally striving to overcome political instability and
shut down its narcotics trade.

Critics say that although there has been progress since President
Alvaro Uribe took office in 2002, Colombia has not done enough to
stem attacks on labor leaders or protect human rights.

No administration has lost a vote on a major free trade pact in
Congress, although few have found the task easy.

But Bush is facing a powerful challenge in seeking House and Senate
approval as lawmakers prepare to go before voters concerned about
foreign competition for jobs.

The outcome is made more difficult by Bush's sagging popularity,
opposition to the pact by the Democratic presidential contenders and
concerns about the U.S. economy.

All of which brings up this question: Why is he taking the step now,
risking angering or embarrassing Colombia with a defeat and dooming
the 16-month-old pact's approval?

Because, Latin America experts and administration officials say,
waiting would accomplish nothing, and the clock is running out on his
opportunities.

Likening the challenge to another gamble, Peter Hakim, president of
the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based policy research
organization focused on the Western Hemisphere, said: "You take a
shot with the lottery. You probably won't win, but if you don't take
the shot, you know you can't win."

Under the protocol for considering the agreement, negotiated under
provisions that give Congress a yes-or-no vote and no way to amend
the pact, the House has 60 legislative working days -- the days in
which it is in session -- to vote. The Senate then has 30 working days.

Bush signed a letter Monday sending the measure to Congress. By the
administration's estimate, if the measure is delivered today, the
90-day calendar would expire in September, when Congress is expected
to adjourn for the election campaign.

"Waiting any longer to send up the legislation would run the risk of
Congress adjourning without the agreement ever getting voted on," Bush said.

Colombia, with 44 million people, is the second-most-populous nation
in South America, after Brazil. "That's a great potential market for
U.S. exports," said Susan C. Schwab, the U.S. trade representative.

Whereas most Colombian products enter the U.S. duty-free under a
previous agreement, the new pact would allow 80% of U.S. goods sold
in Colombia to enter the country without tariffs that, Schwab said,
can reach 35% on industrial and consumer goods and 80% on
agricultural products.

In a joint statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco)
and Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Ways and
Means Committee, said that Bush was disregarding Americans' "economic
insecurity" and that they could not support the pact.

The administration has indicated that it is prepared to talk about
Democrats' proposals for revising a job retraining program. The
program is for workers who have lost jobs because of competition with
foreign labor boosted by lowered U.S. trade barriers.

Rep. Michael H. Michaud (D-Maine), a founder of the House Trade
Working Group, said Bush was "turning a blind eye toward the
egregious human rights violations in Colombia." According to Human
Rights Watch, 17 trade unionists were killed in the first three months of 2008.

But White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Uribe had "committed huge
resources" to reducing violence against labor leaders and improving
the legal system.

Peter DeShazo, a former deputy assistant secretary of State for
Western Hemisphere affairs, said Congress' failure to approve the
measure would "be seen by Colombians as the U.S. turning its back on
a good friend in the region."

Bush has been campaigning to win public support for the measure. In a
recent stop in Jacksonville, Fla., he sought to make the point that
dockworkers' jobs depended, to an extent, on trade with Colombia.

But in addition to emphasizing economic benefits, he has promoted
Uribe's efforts to fight the Colombian narcotics trade and the
guerrilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC,
which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization.

"If this isn't enough to earn America's support, what is?" Bush said
Monday. "President Uribe has done everything asked of him."