WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- US President George W. Bush said on Thursday that he would keep pursuing trade liberalization agreements around the world even as critics say that his policies have resulted in record trade deficits and millions of lost jobs.

    "I believe that Americans benefit from open markets and free and fair trade and I am working to open up markets around the world and make sure that the playing field is level for our workers, farmers, manufacturers and other job creators," Bush said in his message in his annual economic report to the US Congress.

    The report devoted an entire chapter to extolling the benefits of free trade and seeking to answer critics who complained on soaring US trade deficits. The trade deficit hit a record of 617.7billion dollars in 2004.

    However, the report did not repeat an argument made last year that critics viewed as endorsing the idea that the "outsourcing" of American jobs to lower-wage countries represented a benefit to the US economy.

    The report is forecasting that the overall US economy, as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP), will grow by 3.5 percent this year and 3.4 percent in 2006, as measured from fourth quarter to fourth quarter. Last year, the US economy grew by 3.7 percent. Enditem