WASHINGTON – In an about-face on international trade issues, Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine voted in favor of bipartisan legislation Wednesday that would hand the president greater authority in negotiating trade treaties – and reduce congressional input.

Seeking to open the door to “fast-track” trade agreements, the legislation was approved on Wednesday by the Senate Finance Committee in an 18-3 vote, setting the stage for a full Senate vote early next year.

If passed into the law, the measure will grant the president a stronger voice in hammering out international trade agreements, which Congress may then accept or reject without amendments.

Snowe, a Republican member of the finance committee, said she voted in support of the legislation after President Bush and other administration officials assured her that the livelihood of small businesses and other industries important to Maine would receive full consideration in any future trade negotiations.

“In the past, I have opposed trade agreements and fast-track authority because I never felt they struck the proper balance between free and fair trade,” Snowe said in a statement Wednesday morning before the committee vote. “Today, I will be supporting trade promotion authority precisely because it does strike the appropriate balance, and because of the Bush administration’s strong commitment to aggressively enforce our trade laws so American workers aren’t undermined by unfair trade practices.”

Like President Clinton before him, Bush has strenuously lobbied lawmakers to endorse fast-track negotiations as a catalyst for economic growth. The legislation has taken on special urgency for Bush as his administration readies to take part in trade talks in January with the World Trade Organization.

Officially known as Trade Promotion Authority, fast-track negotiations were first approved in the 1970s, but the law expired in the early 1990s. President Clinton repeatedly attempted to persuade Congress to revive the law, but was met with strident opposition from both Republicans and Democrats.

In 1997, Snowe voiced her opposition to fast track on the Senate floor, claiming that the practice reduced the role of Congress to a rubber stamp.

“We are contemplating letting bureaucrats and other unelected interests negotiate America’s future in the new global economy,” she said. “If history is any indication, we would be making a grievous mistake.”

But on Wednesday, Snowe successfully introduced a handful of amendments to the fast-track legislation that gave her confidence that Maine’s interests would be protected.

Those provisions call for efforts to examine the economic impact of past and future trade agreements, expand the role of small business in international trade negotiations, and assure stronger representation of fishing interests in international consultations.

Snowe also gained the commitment of the Bush Administration to aggressively enforce trade laws crucial to the survival of Maine’s salmon and rubber footwear industries, according to her spokesman Dave Lackey who said she discussed her concerns with the president during a White House meeting on Tuesday night.

Last week, both of Maine’s Democratic congressmen voted against giving the president trade promotion authority in a sharply divided 215-214 vote in the House. The two said they opposed the GOP measure, which passed, because it lacks protections for labor and the environment and leaves Maine businesses at risk.

Rep. John Baldacci said he is particularly concerned about the state’s potato and salmon industries and that his experience with the North American Free Trade Agreement has convinced him that any future agreements should be negotiated with close congressional oversight and approval.

While NAFTA allows Canada to deliver potatoes to Boston without any obstacle, Maine growers have to jump through hoops to move their produce across the northern border, Baldacci said. Meanwhile, Chile has been “dumping” salmon into U.S. markets without the careful scrutiny of federal health and safety codes that Maine’s fisheries face.

“After experiencing the lack of response on the potato problem and then facing Chile, which is competing with our developing salmon industry, I don’t want to give automatic trade approval to the president,” Baldacci explained.

Rep. Tom Allen shares similar concerns, according to spokesman Mark Sullivan.

Sen. Susan Collins is a longtime supporter of fast-track negotiations.

“In recent years, the lowering of trade barriers has opened new markets to goods and services produced in Maine, created thousands of new jobs in our state, and encouraged the development of small business,” she said. “Our nation’s – and Maine’s – businesses and workers may be left behind as our competitors form trade alliances without us.”

The Senate legislation is fashioned after the House bill, but the Senate version contains a number of recommendations for trade negotiations to guard against anti-dumping as well as environmental and labor practices of potential negotiating partners.

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., Senate Finance Committee chairman, assured panel members that the legislation will be expanded on the Senate floor to include job training and other benefits for Americans who lose their jobs because of imports.