U.S., S'pore discuss trade pact

U.S., S'pore discuss trade pact

WASHINGTON (Reuters): The United States and Singapore still have a number of issues to resolve before finishing work on a free-trade agreement, a top U.S. trade official said on Tuesday.

"We've made very, very substantial progress, but we've quite a way to go," U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky said in a speech to the Economic Strategy Institute one day after Republican congressional leaders urged the administration not to rush into an pact.

When the free-trade talks were announced last month, President Bill Clinton and Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong set a goal of finishing before the end of the year.

Barshefsky acknowledged that the two countries would miss that deadline but did not rule out an agreement before the Clinton administration ends on Jan. 20.

On Monday, Republican congressional leaders urged Clinton not to rush into a free-trade agreement with Singapore or with Chile before leaving office.

The United States has also recently started trade negotiations with Chile, although those are on a slower schedule than those with Singapore.

In a letter, Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott and House Speaker Dennis Hastert warned that Clinton's plan to include environmental and labor provisions in the two trade pacts would "severely undermine the ability of the next president to craft a bipartisan trade program."

Republicans have resisted Democratic efforts to write labor and environmental protections into trade agreements.

They argue that such provisions make it more difficult to negotiate trade agreements and the issues are better dealt with in other international forums.