(Washington D.C.)- U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., warned the Bush administration Monday that trade deals with South Korea and other nations would not pass Congress without protections for workers and U.S. automakers.

Detroit automakers have been most concerned with the South Korean trade negotiations, which could produce the largest deal since the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993. Auto executives worry that U.S. officials would agree to eliminate all U.S. tariffs on vehicles imported from South Korea without winning concessions on several barriers that South Korea maintains against vehicle imports.

Last year, U.S. automakers and their foreign brands sold 7,165 vehicles in South Korea, while Korean automakers sold about 1.2 million vehicles at home and 800,692 cars and trucks in the United States.

Levin and other Michigan congressional members sent a letter to President George W. Bush on Friday saying that any South Korean trade agreement should include a clause that would lower U.S. import tariffs only if South Korea made similar moves.

The administration has to submit a proposed deal by the end of the month for it to be considered under fast-track rules, which force Congress to approve or reject without changes.

In a speech at the Center for American Progress, Levin said the administration had rejected previous suggestions on South Korea and had not yet adjusted to having Democrats in charge of Congress.

"We welcome competition that helps improve our products but not distorted markets, which surely cannot be called 'creative destruction,' " Levin said.

Levin, the chairman of the key House subcommittee overseeing trade, said other proposed trade agreements with Peru, Colombia and Panama would also not pass Congress without stronger provisions for workers' rights in those countries, such as protections for organizing unions.

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