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The outgoing government on Wednesday, Bush faced pressure from Democrats not to put in place a free trade agreement with Peru, the Andean country to meet the important obligation to strengthen workers' rights.


"We urge you to resist setting any artificial deadline on this issue closely and to consult Congress before taking any decision on this matter," said the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States, Charles Rangel.

Rangel, a Democrat from New York, made his appeal in a letter to the United States Trade Representative, Susan Schwab.


The letter was also signed by Representative Sander Levin, a Michigan Democrat who chairs the panel's trade subcommittee.

Congress approved the free trade agreement for more than a year and the Bush administration has been working with the Government of Peru to the pact between force.


The Peruvian Trade Minister Mercedes Araoz, has expressed concern that it could take another year to implement the agreement if not done before President George W. Bush leaves office on Tuesday January 20.

The next government of President-elect Barack Obama "is more engaged in their internal problem that its international trade relations (...) There are also protectionist positions of influence within the Democratic Party," said Aráoz.


The Peruvian Congress voted Tuesday in favor of giving special powers to President Alan García time to reform laws in the coming days so that the rules of the country meet the requirements of the agreement, and to strengthen the law to protect the Amazon rainforest to calm the concerns of Washington.

Levin and Rangel acknowledged that Peru has recently taken several steps to resolve the outstanding issues, but said they were "particularly concerned" that Bush let the pact comes into force before that Peru complies with the obligation to strengthen workers' rights .


"Specifically, in 2007, Peru agreed to do and actually made changes, its legal framework to end the outsourcing (or" outsourcing ") as a means to undermine the ability to create a union," said the lawmakers .

"In 2008, however, Peru has adopted new laws and regulations that open gaps in the framework of 2007, including a vague exception applies when the labor department of Peru considers' reasonable 'to do," he added.


Schwab told reporters Tuesday that Bush expected to certify to Peru as the seventeenth member with a free trade agreement with the United States.

When Bush came to power, the U.S. had FTAs with Mexico, Canada and Israel.