Posted on 05/13/2002 5:52:36 PM PDT by RCW2001
DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent
Monday, May 13, 2002
©2002 Associated Press
URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/05/13/national1749EDT0736.DTL
(05-13) 14:49 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --
Bush administration officials struggled Monday to overcome a fresh obstacle to passage of a controversial trade bill, hinting that the president might veto a measure atop his legislative wish list if it gives Congress leeway to change international agreements.
The suggestion came as White House lobbyists pressed with no apparent success for Idaho Sen. Larry Craig, the leading Republican supporter of the proposal, to soften his position in favor of Congress being able to amend the agreements.
Craig is "moving forward with his amendment ... He still believes it's a needed safeguard for American farmers and American workers," said his spokesman, Will Hart.
The legislation, pending in the Senate, would give Bush the authority to negotiate international trade deals subject only to a yes-or-no vote by Congress. Former presidents had such authority for much of the past quarter-century, but it lapsed in 1994 and Congress refused to renew it during the Clinton administration.
Supporters of the measure say its passage is essential if the United States is to be a party to global trade deals. Critics say these deals can do great harm to American workers, and want Congress to be able to amend them before they vote on them.
Craig and Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., are pushing a proposal that would open trade deals up to separate votes in Congress in cases in which an agreement weakens American laws designed to protect domestic industries from unfair trade practices.
The administration last week announced its opposition to the proposal, and a senior trade official said during the day that members of the Cabinet would recommend against a presidential signature if the amendment is approved.
"There wouldn't be much point in signing it," said this official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The issue is only the latest obstacle to passage of the trade bill the administration favors. Last week, administration officials reached agreement with key lawmakers on a package of assistance for workers who lose their jobs as a result of imports, at a cost of between $10 billion to $12 billion over the next decade.
Under the agreement, workers who lose their jobs in such circumstances would be eligible for tax credits, payable in advance, for 70 percent of the cost of company-based health insurance coverage.
The same agreement would make some secondary workers eligible for federal retraining and other benefits, as well as the health coverage tax credits.
A Democratic proposal to subsidize health care for retired steelworkers was dropped in the final agreement.
Other provisions of the legislation would extend an expired 10-year program of low tariffs for products from Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. The so-called Andean trade provisions expired in December, but the imposition of tariffs has been delayed until May 16.
The House approved its version of the trade bill last year by one vote, but it contained none of the provisions expanding support for laid off workers.
©2002 Associated Press
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