U.S. President George W. Bush signed a legislation today implementing a free-trade deal with Australia, calling the controversial pact "a milestone in the history of our alliance." "The United States and Australia have never been closer," Bush said during a ceremony at the White House, citing Australia's support for the U.S.-led war in Iraq and efforts to rebuild Afghanistan. Bush praised Australian Prime Minister John Howard several times during his speech, saying at one point that Howard's "superb leadership has helped ensure that the friendship between our two peoples remains strong." The free-trade deal is the centerpiece of Howard's trade policy, seen by some politicians in Washington and Canberra as America's pay-off for his support of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. But the trade agreement, which cleared the U.S. Congress last month, faces a difficult battle in Australia's upper house, where the opposition seeks amendments safeguarding subsidized medicines and local-content rules for television. Bush said bilateral trade between Australia and the United States totals $28 billion a year and that Australia is the tenth-largest market for U.S. exports. "The U.S.-Australia free-trade agreement is a recognition of that importance and commitment by both our nations to work in partnership for common prosperity," he said. The pact would immediately eliminate duties on 99 percent of all U.S.-manufactured goods exported to Australia, "the largest immediate reduction" of its kind in any U.S. trade deal, Bush said.
