U.S. President George W. Bush called on Congress on Saturday to approve a controversial free-trade pact with Central America and sought to assure Americans that U.S. trade laws will be "vigorously" enforced. Bush will hold a White House swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday for U.S. Trade Representative Robert Portman. "He will make sure we vigorously enforce the trade laws on the books, while also working to continue opening foreign markets to American crops and products," Bush said in his weekly radio address. The U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement is by far the most controversial of the six free-trade agreements Bush has negotiated since taking office in 2001. "This agreement would help the new democracies in our hemisphere deliver better jobs and higher labor standards to their workers, and it would create a more level playing field for American goods and services," Bush said. Bush also urged Congress to send him a final energy package before the August congressional recess.
