Bush Defends Trade, Economy at N. American Summit

"It's bad for our hemisphere to have the United States of America turn its back on a mutual friend like Colombia," Bush told reporters Tuesday.

Pelosi reacted coolly. "Democrats have repeatedly told the President we are willing to work with him in good faith to create jobs and restore our economic strength," she said in a statement.

"By removing the restrictive timeline on the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, Democrats voted to put the economic needs of the American people first," she said.

Although trade was the big issue at the summit this week in New Orleans -- chosen by Bush as the host city to highlight its recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina -- the three leaders also discussed how to address global warming, reduce congestion at border crossings and streamline regulations.

Calderón and Harper were cordial to the outgoing U.S. president and sought to stay out of U.S. politics, suggesting they would work with whomever is elected -- though making clear they prefer not to reopen NAFTA, as Clinton and Obama have suggested.

"Mexico will have a respectful relationship with the next president of the United States, and we'll always seek the prosperity of our nations knowing that through free trade we have a clear, open and respectful relationship among our countries," Calderón said.

Harper said Canada would be ready to renegotiate NAFTA if the next president insists but suggested that might not be in the U.S. interest. "We'll be prepared for any eventuality," he said. "Canada is the United States' number one supplier of energy. We are a secure and stable supplier. . . . We would be in an even stronger position now than we were 20 years ago, and we'll be in a stronger position in the future."