Canadian Firms Will Now Be Able to Bid on Contracts to Rebuild Iraq

MONTERREY, Mexico, Jan. 12 -- President Bush reversed himself Tuesday and rescinded a ban on bids by Canadian companies for the second round of contracts to rebuild Iraq.

Bush announced the concession after a breakfast meeting with the new Canadian prime minister, Paul Martin, at the start of the second day of the two-day Summit of the Americas, which brought together the leaders of the hemisphere's 34 democracies.

The administration had said last month that Canada, France, Germany and Russia would be among the countries barred from seeking contracts because they had refused to join the U.S.-led coalition that invaded Iraq.

Bush did not explain his reversal but said he had told Martin in a telephone conversation last month "that Canada would be given serious consideration for contracting."

"They want Iraq to succeed; they want Iraq to be free," Bush said. "They understand the stakes with having a free country in the midst of the Middle East. And Canada right now is eligible for subcontracting bids in the first round of construction projects."

Martin, a former Canadian finance minister who was sworn in to replace Jean Chretien on Dec. 12, said the outcome "actually does show that working together you can arrive at a reasonable solution."

Bush initially had defended the decision, asserting that "friendly coalition folks risked their lives, and therefore the contracting is going to reflect that." But his aides have long conceded that the timing and tone of the directive were a mistake.

The administration had infuriated several key allies by posting a Dec. 5 memo by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz saying it was necessary to exclude holdouts from the Iraqi war "for the protection of the essential security interests of the United States" to limit the competition.

On other matters during a brief give-and-take with reporters, Bush was asked about his planned announcement in Washington on Wednesday of a proposal for a research and development program that would take the United States back to the moon and then on to Mars.

"I'll be saying that tomorrow," Bush said. "I'm going to give a speech tomorrow at our NASA headquarters about America's approach to space exploration. I really don't want to give you the details because I want you to pay attention to what I have to say. But I will tell you that the spirit is going to be one of continued exploration, is to find -- seeking new horizons and investing in a program that . . . meets that objective."

Bush also said the United States and Canada plan to work closely to prevent the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, following the discovery of an infected Holstein in Washington state in December. Bush said the countries have "got a lot of beef going across our border."

"We've got beef on the hoof and beef in the box," he said. "The cattle industries are very important for our respective provinces and states. And the best way to make sure that we're able to satisfy the consumers in both our countries, as well as around the world is there ought to be very close coordination on regulation, on information and on the science."

"I personally haven't stopped eating beef," Bush added. "I like to eat beef and will continue eating beef, because I believe the food supply is safe."

Staff writer Marcela Sanchez contributed to this report.

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