President George W. Bush will send a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Colombia to Congress shortly after its March recess, the top U.S. trade official said Wednesday. “Given the calendar and the president's commitment to see a vote on the Colombia FTA this year, it is very clear the president will have to send up the legislation very shortly,” U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab told reporters. Schwab said the Bush administration will make a final attempt to reach agreement with Democrats on a “bipartisan path” to bring the trade deal to a congressional vote. Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives have resisted efforts to schedule a vote on the deal because they say Colombia needs to make more progress on labor violence concerns.
