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WASHINGTON: US President George W. Bush was on a collision course with the Democratic-led Congress on Monday, after giving lawmakers 90 days to pass a disputed free trade pact with Colombia, America's staunchest Latin American ally.
Bush ramped up pressure on Congress to pass the deal, signing a fast-track letter giving lawmakers 90 legislative days to act on an agreement that he described as vital to US national security interests in Latin America.
"The need for this agreement is too urgent, the stakes for our national security are too high to allow this year to end without a vote," Bush said before signing the letter surrounded by members of his cabinet, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and defence chief Robert Gates.
The controversial trade agreement also has become a source of controversy in the US presidential campaign, with a top aide of Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton quitting over his lobbying ties to Colombia.
Bush on Monday praised Colombia's conservative president, Alvaro Uribe, for his efforts to address concerns raised by Democrats by taking steps to reduce violence against trade unions and demobilize right-wing paramilitary fighters.
The US president said Uribe faces pressure from the Marxist rebel group known as FARC and his anti-American neighbour, Venezuela's leftist president Hugo Chavez.
"President Uribe has stood strong against these threats. And he has done so with the assurance of America's support, because his fight against tyranny and terror is a fight that we share," Bush said.
"If Congress fails to approve this agreement, it would not only abandon a brave ally; it would send a signal throughout the region that America cannot be counted on to support its friends," he said.
The pact would serve as "a powerful rebuke to dictators and demagogues in our backyard," Bush said.
Democrats and activist groups have objected to the treaty, expressing concerns over numerous murders of trade unionists in Colombia and allegations that Uribe's government has ties to drug-dealing paramilitary groups.
Uribe on Monday urged US lawmakers to approve the trade pact, saying that impunity for crimes in his country was ending. "It's very important to note the positive evolution Colombia has been undergoing," he told supporters in northeastern Segovia.
Human Rights Watch disagreed, urging the US Congress in a statement to "vote against" the trade agreement "because of Colombia's continuing failure to effectively address anti-union violence and impunity".
Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid said Bush was setting the free trade agreement (FTA) up for failure by using the fast-track tactic.
"By sending up the Colombia FTA legislation under circumstances that maximize the chances it will fail, he will be adding one more mistake to his legacy and one more mess for the next president to clean up," Reid said.
"By thumbing his nose at the basic processes that underlie Congress' willingness to extend fast-track authority to a president, President Bush is dealing a serious blow to US trade policy for years to come," he said.
On the campaign trail, Clinton was dealt a setback in her quest for the Democratic presidential nomination when her top aide, Washington lobbyist Mark Penn, admitted that he had met with Colombian diplomats who backed the trade deal, which the candidate opposes.
Democratic rival Barack Obama's campaign seized on the slip-up, arguing Clinton had duped Democratic primary voters in Ohio last month by hammering free trade pacts on the campaign trail while her top aide was lobbying on behalf of the Colombia deal.
"I think there are issues associated with this. I'm not ... you can use the word 'hypocrisy' but there are certainly questions that arise from this," said top Obama strategist David Axelrod on MSNBC.
Penn is a top executive in US public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, who has his own consulting firm, and is a Clinton family loyalist who helped plot the former first lady's triumphant 2000 New York Senate campaign.
His thick contacts book was one of the factors that prompted Obama to claim Clinton's White House bid was fuelled by a bankrupt Washington political system that had failed the American people.
- AFP/so
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