President Bush May Find Himself Wrangling With Rangel Over Trade Policy
Tuesday, March 27, 2007SUSIE GHARIB: Top Democrats in Congress today called for big changes in U.S. trade policy, so trade deals now in the works can be approved. The Bush administration needs a green light from lawmakers to finalize agreements with Peru, Colombia and Panama. But as Stephanie Dhue reports, there could be some strings attached to get those deals wrapped up.
STEPHANIE DHUE, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Congressional Democrats know how they would rewrite trade deals. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel says the Bush administration now understands their view.
REP. CHARLES RANGEL, CHAIRMAN, WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE: We have won the election. We are in the majority. It just makes sense that we should not have to beg for consideration for things that we thought were good for trade and good for America.
DHUE: Democrats outlined the basic principles they want for all trade deals. They include proposals to combat global warming, provide access to medicine for developing countries and improve labor rights. Thea Lee of the AFL-CIO says a broad approach is the best way to fix trade deals.
THEA LEE, CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIST, AFL-CIO: The problems are big and they can't be solved by small tinkering around the edges. So there's really no point in doing small fixes. What we need is something pretty dramatic.
DHUE: Business groups are taking a pragmatic approach. The Chamber of Commerce's Christopher Wenk says businesses are willing to be flexible to get the deals done.
CHRISTOPHER WENK, SENIOR DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL POLICY, U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: This is about lowering their barriers to our exports. So I mean, this is about engagement and engagement is very important I think for the U.S. business community. We want the United States to continue to be a player in the global economy and that's what this is all about.
DHUE: Greg Mastel was a Democratic trade advisor. He says the trade debate now will set the stage for renewing the president's trade promotion authority.
GREG MASTEL, SR. ADVISOR, AKIN GUMP: These agreements may be seen by some as fairly small in scope, but obviously setting a new template that's a precedent for everything that follows. That will likely be a bit more controversial.
DHUE: The president's current trade promotion authority expires in June. The Bush administration says it will continue to work with Democrats to expand trade. Stephanie Dhue, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Washington.
