One of the big stories percolating in Washington is the emergence of Rep. Charles Rangel of Harlem as a leader of the moderate faction within the Democratic Party on international trade, an issue that may rival the war as the most fraught of the coming election campaign.

Late yesterday, the House speaker, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, was denying a report of a rift over trade policy between her and Mr. Rangel, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. But the syndicated conservative columnist Robert Novak reported that talks on a trade bill had spurred a “tense internal confrontation” between Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Rangel.

The committee chairman had reached a compromise agreement with Republicans and the White House, but the speaker is not on board because many House Democrats want stronger labor provisions included in the bill, Mr. Novak reported.

“The report by Mr. Novak is totally untrue,” a spokesman for Ms. Pelosi, Brendan Daly, told The New York Sun in a statement. “The speaker is working with Chairman Rangel and others to produce a trade deal that includes provisions to ensure that international labor standards are upheld and measures to protect the environment are included in international trade agreements.”

Mr. Rangel did not return calls for comment yesterday. He was not asked about the report in an appearance on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.” A spokesman for the American trade representative declined comment. As recently as Friday, Mr. Rangel and the ranking Republican on the committee, Rep. James McCrery of Louisiana, issued a statement denying “rumors” that the negotiations had stalled. “We are still actively negotiating on trade policy with all parties and at all levels,” they said. “While there may have been rumors of misunderstandings about language on both sides, there has not been any mistrust.”

That would be in line with a growing perception of Mr. Rangel as a legislator who can work across the aisle or across rifts within his own party. One of his political mentors, Robert Morgenthau, has for months been cautioning editors around town not to sell Mr. Rangel short, saying, as he did to this reporter last night, “He’s going to reach out — and has reached out — to see if he can’t work with the Republicans. … He understands that he represents everybody. … He wants to get things done for the United States.”

The trade issue is explosive in large part because America is long into a historic expansion that could, trade advocates argue, be brought to a disastrous halt were Congress to pass a protectionist measure. In 1930, the Smoot-Hawley tariff measure helped plunge the world into a trade war and the Depression.

Republicans and the White House want to extend what is known as the president’s “fast track” authority to negotiate international trade deals. The provision smoothes the way for agreements because it mandates a yes-or-no vote in Congress and prohibits modifications and amendments that could kill a deal.

The “fast track” authority expires June 30, increasing the pressure for a compromise. An extension would affect negotiations with the more than 150 countries that comprise the World Trade Organization, along with separate trade deals with Colombia, Panama, Peru, and South Korea that need approval.

Unions and labor-backed lawmakers are insisting on labor provisions in exchange for an extension of “fast-track.” Those include a guarantee of organizing rights and a ban on child and forced labor.

Mr. Rangel, 76, is the dean of the New York congressional delegation and has been known as a liberal stalwart since taking office in 1971. But after waiting years to assume the chairmanship of Ways and Means — the panel that oversees tax and trade policy — he has made a commitment to bipartisanship, at least within the confines of his committee.

In a recent speech at the National Press Club in Washington, Mr. Rangel decried the rancor on Capitol Hill in recent years and said one of his first actions as chairman was to meet with his Republican counterpart, Mr. McCrery, and pledge to work closely together. He even said he had invited Mr. McCrery to come with him to the press club, joking that the joint appearance would make more news than anything he said in his speech.

Despite Mr. Rangel’s frequent biting criticisms of President Bush and Vice President Cheney on the Iraq war and other issues, administration officials praise his efforts to reach a trade deal.

“We have negotiated well with him,” an administration source close to the talks said. “I think he’s a guy who wants to accomplish things.”
That doesn’t mean he has sacrificed his principles or shifted to the political right, however. “I wouldn’t call him moderate as much as pragmatic,” the source said.

Mr. Morgenthau, the longtime Manhattan district attorney, has known Mr. Rangel since they worked together as federal prosecutors in the 1960s. He speaks glowingly of the chairman, describing a dedication to the interests of the nation over any “special interest.”

For those thinking that the heightened partisanship in Washington would derail Mr. Rangel’s efforts to forge agreement, Mr. Morgenthau had a message: “Charlie’s going to surprise them.”