By Xinhua
Washington : Senior officials from the government have urged the Democratic-controlled Congress to renew President George W. Bush's trade promotion authority (TPA) enabling the US to negotiate more trade deals with the rest of the world.
Under TPA, known as "fast-track" authority, the Republican administration can negotiate trade agreements, which only can be approved or rejected by Congress but not amended. The law expires on June 30 after five years in force.
"The president, indeed every president, should have TPA to ensure that the US can best advance our country's trade interests," said Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab in a statement.
The US could fall behind other countries in the race for new export markets if the legislation is not renewed, she warned.
Schwab was joined by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and business groups in calling for renewal of the legislation.
"To keep our economy strong and competitive, we must continue to push forward on the trade agenda," Paulson said in a statement Friday. "Americans benefit from open markets here at home and open markets abroad for our exports."
Also issuing a statement, Gutierrez said TPA provides economic opportunity for American businesses, farmers and workers to compete and win in international markets.
"TPA helps level the playing field, and boosts jobs for American workers by expanding our export opportunities around the world," he said.
"With exports at a historically high level, the US cannot afford to be sidelined," he stressed.
Tony Fratto, White House spokesman, also said that it was "regrettable" that Congress was letting the authority expire.
The TPA lapsed between 1994 and 2002 and was renewed in 2002 only after acid debate.
Since winning the authority in 2002, the Bush administration has negotiated trade deals with Singapore, Chile, Australia, Morocco, Bahrain, Oman, the Dominican Republic and several countries in Central America.
"At least 100 regional trade agreements have gone into force since 2002 and more than 100 are under negotiation," said Schwab in her statement.
While Republicans tout the market-opening benefits of those trade pacts, however, many Democrats say they encourage American companies to move operations overseas and increase imports into the US.
"The expiration of President Bush's fast-track authority is by no means a cure for the unfair trade agreements that have passed or the ones we will soon consider," said Phil Hare, an Illinois Democrat.
The US administration is pushing for approval of four pending free trade deals from Congress before Bush leaves office in January 2009.
The agreements with Peru and Panama are considered relatively noncontroversial. But pacts with South Korea and Colombia face strong opposition, according to analysts.
If approved by Congress, the free trade agreement with South Korea would become the most important such deal since the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement between Mexico, Canada and the Us, analysts say.