U.S. Congress set to leave trade pacts until 2009

By Doug Palmer

WASHINGTON, Nov 17  - The U.S. Congress is likely to adjourn for the year without voting on trade deals the Bush administration has negotiated with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, congressional aides said on Monday.

But as the Senate convened for a brief lame duck session, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab held out hope Congress could still approve all three pacts this year.

"The most important reason, quite frankly, is we're all concerned about the economy and these represent free stimulus" because of the boost they would give to U.S. exports, Schwab told the Republican group Club for Growth.

The House of Representatives plans to return this week for its own brief post-election session. Both the House and the Senate would have to approve each of the three free trade agreements for them to become law.

House Democrats blocked action earlier this year on the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement, after President George W. Bush tried to force a vote on the deal.

President-elect Barack Obama and other Democrats have said Colombia must do more to reduce violence against trade unionists before Congress votes on the pact.

Obama also has called for the South Korea trade deal to be renegotiated because he says the agreement's auto provisions favor South Korean automakers too much.

Although the White House has continued to push for votes on the agreements, Democratic congressional aides said they did not expect any of the pacts to come up this week.

Lobbyists agreed it was unlikely, but said they would continue pressing for votes on the three pacts until the 110th Congress is formally gaveled to a close.

"There's always a chance, although I think realistically we're looking at the 111th Congress for any of these," said Doug Goudie, director of international trade policy at the National Association of Manufacturers.

"It's a 'Hail Mary' pass at this point, and I'm not sure there's any receivers to catch the ball," said Christopher Wenk, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's point man on trade.

The Bush administration said it was disappointing Congress was unlikely to approve the trade deals.

"At a time when Congress is looking to help stimulate the economy, creating new opportunities for U.S. workers and exporters should be a no brainer," said Sean Spicer, a spokesman for the U.S. Trade Representative's office.