SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador?President Bush promised Sunday to push for free-trade policies for economically strapped Latin America and said the United States “is wide open” to buy foreign goods.

Winding up a journey to Mexico, Peru and El Salvador, Bush also pledged to promote immigration policies that link workers from the region with American jobs.

Bush said it was in the best interests of the United States to have peace Latin America, a region known for war and strife.

Bush’s free-trade pitch came just days after he slapped new tariffs on steel and softwood lumber imported to the United States. Those retaliations came in part because the administration concluded foreign governments were unfairly subsidizing those industries.

Critics say the tariffs raised questions about Bush’s oft stated commitment to free trade in the Americas.