September 09, 2007	Sunday	Sha'aban 26, 1428

WASHINGTON, Sept 8: US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez will lead members of Congress on a trip next week to Colombia, Peru and Panama, as the White House steps up a lobbying campaign to win congressional approval of free trade pacts with all three countries.

“Right now, Congress already allows more than 90pc of Panama, Peru and Colombia’s imports to enter the US duty free,” Gutierrez said in a statement on Friday announcing the Sept 12-15 trip. “These agreements will level the playing field by providing duty-free treatment for the majority of US exports to these countries.”

The fate of the three trade agreements has been uncertain since Democrats won control of Congress in last November’s election. Earlier this year, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab reached a deal with top Democrats to strengthen the labour and environmental provisions of the pacts.—Reuters