Lawmaker pushes trade benefit renewal package

By Doug Palmer

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior Democratic lawmaker said on Friday he hoped to pass legislation soon that would renew U.S. trade benefits for Andean and other developing countries through September 2010.

The bill could further slow White House efforts to win approval of a trade deal with Colombia, but House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel said Congress needed to act.

"These preference programs have been a centerpiece of U.S. efforts to spread the benefits of globalization to the world's poor and developing countries," Rangel said in a statement.

"They have created tens of thousands of jobs -- jobs that are likely to be lost to countries like China if the programs are not renewed -- and have created opportunities for workers and businesses in the United States," Rangel said.

Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia currently have duty-free access to the U.S. market under the Andean trade preference program, which expires at the end of February for the third time in little more than a year.

The short-term extensions reflect a difference of opinion in Congress over the future of the program. Peru and Colombia have negotiated free trade pacts with the United States that lock in their duty-free access, but Congress has balked so far at approving the Colombia agreement even though it approved the Peru pact last year.

Senior Democrats say they need more evidence Colombia is serious about stopping murders of trade unionists and putting their killers in prison before they vote on the pact, but favor renewing the trade preference program.

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