President Bush, on the eve of a House vote on the Peru free trade agreement (FTA), urged Congress also to support trade deals with Colombia and Panama, which are more contentious.

“It’s not acceptable to pass one trade agreement and let the others languish,” Bush said Tuesday. “It’s not fair to pick out one country and not support the trade agreement with the other two in our hemisphere.”

Labor unions including the AFL-CIO have drawn a line in the sand on Colombia. They charge that labor organizers in that country continue to be murdered, and that Colombia’s government has not done enough to investigate and prosecute those who commit the crimes.

The Bush administration has launched an intense effort to build support for the Colombia deal, including taking members of Congress on trips to that country to view its progress under President Alvaro Uribe. Bush argues passage of the Colombia deal would be a boon to a U.S. ally and a blow to Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez, who is battling the U.S. for influence in Latin America.

The Panamanian deal faces trouble because of Panama’s election of an official wanted in the U.S. for murdering an American soldier in Panama years after the U.S. invasion of that country.

Bush made his remarks at the White House as part of a forum with representatives of major companies and trade organizations. He touted free trade as a way to create higher-paying jobs for U.S. workers, increase exports and give consumers more choices at better prices.

The president noted that the three trade deals would eliminate trade barriers for American goods and open a market of a combined 75 million consumers.

In addition, Bush argued that trade deals also strengthen democracies in America’s backyard.

“These young democracies are trying to build a better life for their citizens,” he said. “Leaders like President Uribe of Colombia have taken brave steps to fight terrorists and drug traffickers, to strengthen the rule of law and to open up their economies.

“People are watching the actions of the U.S. Congress very carefully,” Bush added. “Champions of false populism in the region are watching Congress — they will use any failure to approve these trade agreements as evidence that America will never treat democracies in the region as full partners.”

Rep. Phil Hare (D-Ill.), a member of the House Trade Working Group, criticized Bush for only meeting with business representatives Tuesday.

“It is no surprise that President Bush is campaigning for the Peru FTA with its likely beneficiaries: corporate billionaires,” Hare stated. “It is important to note who the President is not meeting with today — labor, environmental or consumer groups. That is, of course, because none of them support this agreement.”