Drugs and Free Trade: Bad timing.

Wellplaced officials in Washington say the Clinton administration is likely to move up by one month its annual certification to Congress of individual countries' collaboration in the war on drugs.

The annual rite, almost unanimously denounced abroad as a symbol of U.S. political arrogance, would take place in February instead of March, in order not to irk Latin American countries in the runup to the April 1998, 34nation Summit of the Americas in Chile.

Trouble is, the February certification process may coincide with Clinton's efforts to reintroduce his ``fast track'' bill in Congress to obtain authorization to sign new free trade bills. New drug charges against countries such as Colombia could further hurt the
chances of the free trade bill, congressional sources say.