*EPF402 07/10/2003
Congressional Committees Advance Chile, Singapore Trade Deals
(House Democrats warn in advance over Central America labor issue) (600)

By Bruce Odessey
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Drafts of bills to implement free trade agreements (FTAs) with Chile and Singapore have easily won informal approval from three of the four congressional committees having jurisdiction over relevant issues.

After the July 10 informal actions of the Finance Committee in the Senate and the Ways and Means and Judiciary committees in the House of Representatives, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said the administration plans to submit the legislative packages formally in time for Congress to pass them before its August recess.

Both the Ways and Means and Finance committees approved the parts of the draft bills under their jurisdiction by voice vote and without amendments, indicating broad support in Congress for the FTAs.

That jurisdiction involves such general provisions as authority for the president to reduce tariffs. It also covers more specific provisions, including those concerning rules of origin and authority to impose temporary higher tariffs or quotas as a safeguard for U.S. industries against a surge of imports.

The House Judiciary Committee approved its part of the draft bill with one amendment, which Zoellick said was entirely acceptable, concerning what are called H-1B waivers for temporary U.S. work visas for persons from Chile and Singapore.

Under the draft as modified, the number of H-1B waivers issued annually would remain capped and employers would have to pay a $1,000 fee per temporary worker and submit "attestation" statements.

"These attestations are key to ensuring that U.S. employers do not use the immigration program as a way to put pressure on U.S. workers to accept lower wages or less favorable terms and conditions of employment," said Representative Sander Levin, a Michigan Democrat.

The Senate Judiciary Committee, the fourth committee with jurisdiction, has yet to act on the immigration visa issue.

The Chile and Singapore FTAs are the first agreements Congress is considering under the 2002 law on trade promotion authority (TPA), otherwise known as fast track. Under TPA, Congress restricts itself to approve or reject a negotiated trade agreement, within strict time limits and without amendments.

In some ways, this unique procedure runs backwards from normal legislative procedure. Usually when a bill is introduced, congressional committees review and amend the bill before the House or Senate votes on it. Under TPA, because no amendments are allowed, the committees work with each other and the administration informally to modify the administration's draft text before the bill is submitted formally. Zoellick said the administration would submit the Chile and Singapore FTAs formally the week of July 13.

Although the Chile and Singapore agreements appear to face no serious opposition, House Democrats made clear they oppose using their labor provisions as a model in the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) now under negotiation.

Those members argued that provisions requiring Chile and Singapore to enforce their own labor standards were appropriate because they already had high standards.

Representative Charles Rangel, the senior Democrat on Ways and Means, argued, however, that such a provision would not be acceptable for Central American countries, "which do not have adequate domestic labor laws and do not have a history of respect for core labor standards" such as the rights of workers to bargain and form labor unions.

Zoellick reiterated that the administration seeks to conclude the CAFTA negotiations in 2003. He said that some Central American countries are moving toward labor law reform and that the administration was working with Central American governments to improve their labor standards.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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