Bush urges passage of US-Colombia free trade deal

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US President George W. Bush on Saturday urged US congressional leaders to reconsider their opposition to the US-Colombia free trade deal, calling its approval "a strategic imperative."

"Our markets are open to Colombian products, but barriers that make it harder to sell American goods in Colombia remain," Bush said in his weekly radio address.

The comments came after the House of Representatives earlier this month delayed a vote on the trade pact in a snub to the White House.

The delay effectively means the House stopped a 90-day clock under which the full Congress was required to act, and analysts predict the bill will not get a vote before November's presidential and congressional elections.

The Senate is prohibited from taking...