Grassley -- who is chairman of the International Trade Subcommittee, as well as the Senate's Caucus on International Narcotics Control -- said the world looks for the United States to lead on both of these critical issues.
The primary objective of the summit this weekend is to launch negotiations on a Free Trade Area of the Americas that will lead to an agreement by the end of 2005 to expand free trade throughout the Western Hemisphere. Grassley said it is "embarrassing" that the President of the United States begins these negotiations without having trade negotiating authority, or fast track. "This puts our country in a position of weakness and opens the door for other countries to take a leading role, to the detriment of U.S. workers, farmers and consumers," Grassley said.
Grassley urged the President to do everything possible to correct this problem and commit to fight for fast track before Congress adjourns this fall. "The President simply needs to convince 20 percent of his own political party to support him. Our international allies have made very clear that what's at stake is nothing less than the credibility of American as a world leader," Grassley said.
In advance of the Santiago summit, Grassley also urged the President to take a strong stand regarding evaluation by the United States of counter-drug efforts made by other nations. He specifically asked that the administration endorse and enforce the annual certification process and reject any efforts to lessen the effect of this law. "This process has proved to be one of the most effective tools in our diplomatic arsenal to build not only effective cooperation on drug control but also to give the administration, Congress and the public a means to evaluate that cooperation and determine whether or not it is genuine or merely rhetorical," Grassley said.
In addition, Grassley asked the President to focus on the challenge of dealing with corruption. "Drug-related corruption of the police, judicial and political systems in much of Latin America is growing. As a result, free institutions and the possibility of self-government are being steadily eroded," Grassley said in a letter sent to Clinton last week.
Finally, Grassley urged the administration to use the summit to reach an agreement with Brazil regarding use of an information-sharing system that has proved successful in suppressing illegal drug production and trafficking in Peru.