U.S. hopes to make progress on Colombia trade pact

By Jeff Mason and Patrick Markey

PORT OF SPAIN (Reuters) - The White House expressed hope on Saturday it could soon make progress on a free trade agreement with Colombia that is strongly opposed by U.S. labour groups.

Aides to U.S. President Barack Obama, who warned against protectionism while attending the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, said he directed U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to hammer out issues standing in the way of the pact.

"The president has asked our trade representative, Ambassador Kirk, to work with the Colombians to work through ... the president's remaining concerns about violence against labour leaders in Colombia," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told a briefing.

U.S. Democrats, who control Congress and have strong support from the labour movement, have expressed concerns over the murders of union leaders in Colombia and backlogs in investigating the crimes.

Washington's failure to approve the free trade deal, however, is seen in Latin America as a sign of its indifference to a staunch U.S. ally in the region.

Obama and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe were photographed sitting next to one other at one point during the regional summit. Uribe said he told the U.S. leader his government had made progress to stop the killings and get more convictions.

"We want to reach the point where there are no killings of workers in Colombia," Uribe, a conservative and ally of former President George W. Bush, told reporters. "I said, Mr. President we are fighting against impunity."

Gibbs said Kirk had also met with Uribe and the Colombian finance minister.