Act sceptical about PM's trade deal hopes

The Prime Minister's trade rhetoric was sounding like a broken record, Act trade spokesman Ken Shirley said yesterday.

Mr Shirley was sceptical about the prospects of a deal with the United States, which Helen Clark said had support from influential Washington figures.

In Santiago, the Prime Minister spoke to US President George W. Bush, raising New Zealand's hopes of gaining progress on the trade issue during his second term as President.

She said she spoke about the considerable support in Washington - both in Congress and the corporate community - for New Zealand to have a free trade deal with the US.

"I think there's good will around Washington DC to build on it and we're just going to carry on the work," she said. Mr Bush was "listening", she added.

- NZPA