NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- President Bush is closing out his three-state harvest-to-export tour at the Port of New Orleans, the last American stop for many U.S. farm goods heading to overseas markets.
Bush seeks to expand trade to boost the U.S. economy. Agricultural goods are prime products for exports, and to underscore his point, the president has been hopscotching south roughly along the Mississippi River and the path such goods commonly take.
The Port of New Orleans, which Bush was visiting Tuesday, moves an average of 11.4 million tons of goods annually. It is a "symbol of free trade," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.
Bush has renewed his focus on the economy at the start of this election year, even as he manages the war against terror and as his administration is defending its contacts with Enron Corp. before the huge energy company collapsed last month.
The president is offering no new government initiatives to pull the nation from recession, instead promoting his broad philosophy on how to kick-start the economy, such as lowering taxes and bolstering trade.
Though he did not say so in his farm-state visits Monday, Bush seeks authority to negotiate "fast-track" trade agreements, which Congress could reject but not amend. The Senate is to vote on the matter early this year.
Many Democrats and labor and conservation groups oppose fast-track because they fear it would threaten American jobs and make it easier for polluters to challenge environmental-protection laws.
But Fleischer said that "unless there's political mischief," the White House is confident the Senate will vote for the expanded presidential trade powers.
Addressing friendly farm-country audiences in Illinois and Missouri on Monday, Bush spoke in generalities about the importance of global trade to the slumping U.S. economy.
"If you're the best in the world at what you do, which we are in farming, then it seems like to me we ought to encourage that product to be sold not only here in America, but level the playing field so it can be sold all across the world," Bush told feed plant workers in Aurora, Mo.
Likewise, Bush promoted tax cuts in three stops Monday, but steered clear of the details.
Bush has proposed repealing the corporate alternative minimum tax, or AMT, which ensures businesses that take many deductions and credits still pay a minimum amount of taxes. Bush also would allow companies that invest in new equipment to write off the purchases more quickly.
Monday, he avoided stepping into the AMT issue, and mentioned the write-off proposal just once. He said he was "more than willing" to enhance unemployment and health benefits for displaced workers, but called on lawmakers to "think long-term for America -- accelerating depreciation makes sense for people who buy equipment."
Bush embarked on the two-day trip after cutting open his cheek and lip Sunday night when he fainted briefly after choking on a pretzel.
Nevertheless he struck out on a 13-hour, campaign-style day capped by a two-hour dinner with friends and staff in the heart of New Orleans' French Quarter.
Directly across the street, Gennifer Flowers, who once had an affair with Bush's White House predecessor, Bill Clinton, sat in a window, trying to lure customers in to see her nightclub singing act.
