US House fails to approve Vietnam trade bill

WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) The US House of Representatives failed to pass a bill establishing permanent normal trade relations with Vietnam, in a setback for President George W Bush who is visiting Hanoi this weekend.

Supporters failed to get the necessary two-thirds vote to approve the bill on the House ''suspension calendar,'' which is usually reserved for noncontroversial legislation.

It was unclear whether House Republicans would try again this week to pass the bill through regular floor procedure, where it only needs a majority to win.

The tally was 228 in favor of the bill and 161 opposed.

Shortly after the vote, the House adjourned for the evening.

An unofficial tally showed stronger support among Republicans than Democrats. Republicans voted two-to-one in favor of the bill while Democrats were almost evenly divided.

The setback increases the chance Bush will go to this weekend's annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting in Hanoi without delivering on a trade initiative his administration has said since May was a major priority.

Nicole Venable, a lobbyist for the US Chamber of Commerce, said her business group was ''dumbfounded and confounded by this vote,'' which earlier in the day appeared to be headed for easy approval.

There was no immediate reaction from the White House or the US Trade Representative's office.

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