Eoin Callan and Alan Beattie report on the Bush administration’s difficulties in garnering votes for its PTAs with Colombia, Panama and Peru:

The Bush administration may have to advance its trade agenda with narrow bipartisan support if there is no breakthrough in ongoing talks with the Democratic-controlled Congress.

This scenario would see the White House force votes on pending trade deals in the hope of forging a majority with backing from Republicans and a handful of Democrats in the House of Representatives.

The votes are likely to be divisive and would further strain political support for free trade in the US. It could also slow efforts to reach a successful conclusion of the Doha round of world trade talks and hamper US efforts to initiate new agreements.

Perhaps the efforts to conclude Doha are moving so slowly that that tradeoff is not a real concern.