US President George W. Bush found more support abroad for his plans with the country’s trade program. During a meeting with Mexican and Canadian leaders held on Monday, Bush said that obstructing the US-Columbia trade deal is "bad for American workers and bad for our security."

President Bush made the above mentioned remark at the fourth North American Leaders Summit held in New Orleans, Louisiana. The summit started Monday, it was scheduled to last two days and it was also attended by Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Although Canada and Mexico aren’t directly affected by the trade agreement with Columbia, the high ranking officials present at the summit will most likely back Bush arguing that such trade agreements are boosting free trade throughout the hemisphere and this is good for the North American countries.

The trade agreement with Columbia was sent to Congress this month, but it was highly criticized and opposed by Democrats in the House of Representatives, whoa are reportedly trying to change rules so they won’t be obliged to vote the agreement.

The New Orleans summit is being held amid rising anti-trade sentiment, but it’s a great opportunity for Bush to boost his chances of ratifying the free trade deals with Colombia, Panama and South Korea in Congress.

"All of us want to make sure we're treated fairly, and we can do that. This summit comes at an opportune time to reaffirm the benefits of the trading arrangements between our three nations," Bush said after discussing with Calderon and Harper.

Mexico’s President defended the North American Free Trade Agreement saying that the deal reached between the three countries that removed barriers to trade and investment has helped the region’s economic growth.

Bush did the same. He praised NAFTA for creating numerous jobs, improving choices for consumers and slowing down the stream of Mexican migrants to the United States.

After an individual discussion with Bush, the Canadian Prime Minister eulogized his relationship with the US president.

"The president has never promised me anything he couldn't deliver, and that's always appreciated," Harper said.

According to Bush, the current trade deal with Columbia is unfair because the Columbian goods enter the US market duty free, while US exports to the South American country are facing sharp tariffs. If the new trade agreement is passed, the tariffs would be eliminated.