Without it, any hemispheric trade pact is almost sure to perish before it,s produced and the new president,s credibility will suffer a blow. Bush told summit leaders he will press Congress for that authority soon after he leaves Quebec on Sunday. I am committed to obtaining trade promotion authority before the end of the year. Venezuela is also a powerful foe of Bush,s market-driven trade approach. That country,s president, Hugo Chavez, said few of the goals set out at the first Summit of the Americas, in Miami in 1994, have been met.
Today there is more poverty than yesterday.
The Cuban leader won,t be attending these gatherings until he allows free and fair elections in Cuba, Bush said.