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.