USTR urges Pelosi set date for Colombia trade vote

By Doug Palmer

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The only way to salvage a free trade deal with Colombia is for U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to schedule a vote on the pact, the Bush administration's top trade official said on Thursday.

"It is important for American workers and farmers and entrepreneurs that the Speaker of the House schedule a vote on the merits of the agreement," U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said in a speech.

"That and only that has the potential of reviving the Colombia free trade agreement," Schwab said at the U.S. Export-Import Bank's annual trade conference.

Last week, President George W. Bush sparked a fight with Pelosi over the pact when he submitted it to Congress for a straight up-or-down vote within 90 days under long-standing "fast track" rules for considering trade agreements.

The White House said it took that step only after Pelosi rebuffed months of efforts to work out a bipartisan process for bringing the pact to the floor.

Pelosi responded to Bush's move by pushing through a rule change that removes the 90-day deadline and lets Democratic leaders decide when Congress votes on the pact.

The Bush administration now accuses Pelosi of killing the Colombia agreement and destroying a key trade policy tool used by both Democratic and Republican presidents since 1974 to get trade agreements through Congress.

On Wednesday, Pelosi said Democrats "stand ready" to talk with the Bush administration about conditions for bringing the Colombia agreement to the floor for a vote. She said it would fail if Bush tries to "jam it" down Congress' throat.