Bush, Congress close to deal on labor - Gutierrez

WASHINGTON, May 11 (Reuters) The Bush administration is close to reaching a deal with Congress on labour concerns that have blocked free trade pacts with Peru, Panama and Colombia, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said.

''We're close. ... We're working extremely hard because we know how important these three agreements are,'' he told Reuters yesterday.

''I'm hopeful that we can get on with this and do it as soon as we can. This makes a lot of sense for our country. It's in our national interest to get these three free trade agreements approved.'' But Gutierrez said US Trade Representative Susan Schwab was still trying to wrap up a deal with lawmakers on labor concerns. ''We're not there yet,'' he said.

Democratic lawmakers want the three pacts to include an enforceable commitment to abide by core International Labor Organization standards, such as freedom to organize and bargain collectively and regulation of child labor.

Business groups have conceded that point, but have hoped for a ''safe haven'' provision that would prevent US labor laws from being challenged under the pacts.

Rep Sander Levin, a Michigan Democrat involved in the talks with the Bush administration, has argued it would be hypocritical for the United States to do that.

Levin told reporters on Wednesday there had been ''some further serious discussions'' on the labor issue this week, but declined to say how near the two sides were to a deal.

''They're getting close,'' said Thea Lee, policy director for the AFL-CIO, adding that her organization has not yet given its blessing to the deal.

Labor is the AFL-CIO's biggest concern, but it also has problems with other areas of the free trade pacts, Lee said.

Levin has said the next step after reaching a deal would be for US trade negotiators to present the three countries with the proposed changes.

In the case of Panama agreement, which was concluded after Democrats won control of Congress in November, US trade negotiators purposely left the labor chapter open.

Even if a basic labor deal is reached, Congress is expected to demand Colombia make additional commitments because of violence against trade unionists in that country, and a paramilitary death squad scandal linked to allies of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

Congressional concerns about meat and automotive trade with South Korea also remain obstacles to a vote on a free trade agreement with that country.

The talks between the Bush administration and Congress have also focused on other issues.

Democrats have pushed for a provision that would allow multilateral environmental agreements to be enforced through the free trade agreements.

They also want the pacts changed to ensure intellectual property rights provisions do not impede access to life-saving medicines in free trade partner countries.

REUTERS AM SSC0928