WASHINGTON, Oct 9: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday urged the US Congress to pass free trade deals with Peru, Colombia and Panama, warning that non-approval would be seen as a US “withdrawal.”

Failure to pass the bilateral deals “would be a great blow to those countries. It would be a retreat,” she told reporters at the Organisation of American States.

The US Congress is looking at these deals and one with South Korea in coming days. The Democratic-led Congress tends to lean more toward protectionism on trade than President George W. Bush’s Republicans. The deals with South Korea and Colombia are seen as likely to face the toughest challenges.

—AFP