Bush: Anti-free trade bent in Congress a worry

By Caren Bohan

RIO RANCHO, New Mexico (Reuters) – President George W. Bush
on Friday criticized a growing wariness about free trade in the
U.S. Congress, saying it signaled a lack of confidence in
America’s ability to compete in the global marketplace.

Visiting an Intel plant in New Mexico, Bush touted the
high-tech giant’s strength in exports as a success story.

He took aim at protectionist sentiment a day after the
United States launched free-trade talks with South Korea and as
he gets set to pursue approval of deals that would allow Russia
and other countries to join the World Trade Organization and a
bilateral trade pact with Peru.

“The first sign that the country’s becoming protectionist
is when we refuse to ratify trade agreements,” Bush said during
the second of a two-day post-State of the Union tour.

“That’s a sign. It’s an indication that elected officials
are beginning to get worried about the capacity of this country
to compete,” he said.

Last year, Bush barely won approval of a free trade
agreement with Central American countries because of Democratic
worries it could lead to job losses at home.

Meanwhile, many lawmakers are worried over the record U.S.
trade deficit, particularly the portion with China. A bill that
threatens China with 27.5 percent tariffs on its exports to the
United States could come to a vote in the U.S. Senate before
March 31 unless Beijing acts soon to revalue its currency.

“It’s hard to get trade agreements through Congress and I’m
worried that that is an indication that we’re losing our
confidence,” Bush said.

Bush was on the road touting initiatives he unveiled in his
annual State of the Union address Tuesday night, including
making research and development tax credits permanent and
bolstering math and science programs in U.S. schools.

He is promoting such ideas as part of a “competitiveness”
agenda meant to give the United States an edge amid the rise of
economies like China and India.

Bush spoke hours after fresh government figures showed the
U.S. economy added 193,000 new jobs in January, a number that
was below expectations but still signaled a relatively vigorous
job market. Bush said the numbers showed steady growth.

He was to visit a magnet school in Dallas, Texas, later to
push proposals to train 70,000 teachers in advanced math and
science courses and to recruit 30,000 private-sector
professionals from those fields to teach in U.S. schools.

But Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, a Democrat who worked
with Bush on his signature No Child Left Behind Act, said the
president had not followed through on many education promises.

“We’ve all heard the slogan ‘A day late and a dollar
short.’ Well, for this administration, on education, they’re
five years late and billions of dollars short,” Kennedy said.

(Additional reporting by Tabassum Zakaria and Doug Palmer
in Washington)