The two top House Democrats who oversee trade gave the Bush administration an outline of their requirements for current and future trade deals on Tuesday and said their proposals enjoy broad support in Congress.

U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., also warned again that any proposed trade agreement with South Korea that lowers barriers for that nation's automakers but does not take similar actions for U.S. manufacturers would be defeated in Congress. The administration has until Friday to submit an agreement.

Rangel and Levin said their trade policy would make higher living standards a key goal of any trade agreement by requiring nations to adhere to international rules for workers.

They would push the Bush administration to enforce trade deals and press for actions against China and Japan over currency manipulation.

The two said their outline will be the basis for Democrats and Republicans to work together on trade, rather than having to settle for what they called a one-sided trade debate when the Republicans held the majority in Congress.

"We have won the election. We are in the majority," said Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. "It just makes sense we should not have to beg for consideration for things that we thought were good for trade and good for America."

"Globalization is here to stay. Expanded trade is critical," Levin said. "The key question is whether we're going to shape expanded trade so that the benefits of it are more widely shared, and make globalization work and work better."

In addition to the pending agreement with South Korea, the administration already submitted proposed deals with Panama, Peru and Colombia. Levin said those could be amended to match the policy he and Rangel laid out.

But a trade deal with South Korea would dwarf all of those, and create the largest trade pact since the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994. Levin said U.S. trade negotiators rejected a proposal he and other lawmakers made for opening South Korea's automotive market and chose a "weak proposal that repeats past failed efforts."
 

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