ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

DAVID ESPO

WASHINGTON (AP)—In a hard-earned triumph for President Clinton, the House approved the North American Free Trade Agreement late Wednesday to fuse the United States, Mexico and Canada into the world’s largest trading bloc. Republicans provided a majority of the support.

The 234-200 vote sent the measure to the Senate, where leaders predicted approval within a few days. ‘‘NAFTA is a lock,’‘ predicted GOP Leader Bob Dole in a written statement.

Clinton, beaming, lauded the bipartisan House vote. ‘‘Tonight I am proud to say we have not flinched,’‘ he said. ‘‘…We had to come from a long way back to win this fight.’‘ NAFTA will ‘‘expand our exports, create new jobs and help us assert America’s leadership in the global economy,’‘ said the president, who leaves Thursday for a trade meeting in Seattle with leaders of 15 Asian nations.

The House rendered its verdict after a daylong debate that reflected high-minded disagreements over America’s role in the world economy and bare-knuckled politics. Scores of labor-backed Democrats abandoned their president, but 132 Republicans signed on to assure passage.

The 34-vote margin was far wider than anticipated, the result of a furious last-minute lobbying blitz that blended presidential phone calls with concessions to key lawmakers concerned about the pact’s impact on a variety of domestic industries.

A cheer went up in the crowded chamber when the vote count passed the 218 needed to approve the pact. Opponents stood in clumps, shaking their heads and grimacing at the result.

‘‘A vote for NAFTA is in the great tradition of our party,’‘ House GOP Leader Bob Michel of Illinois said in a ringing speech of support. ‘‘So let it be said on this crucial vote tonight, that we Republicans did not sacrifice the jobs of tomorrow to the fears of today.’‘

Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt summed up for the opponents who fear the pact will throw thousands of Americans out of work. ‘‘Deficient and flawed,’‘ he said of NAFTA. ‘‘We cannot and must not expose our workers and our corporations to unfair competition.’‘

The accord would take effect on Jan 1. It would create a continental free-trade zone by gradually eliminating tariffs over 15 years. All industries would be affected, from fruits and vegetables to banking and automobiles.

Administration officials and some lawmakers also said a favorable vote would strengthen Clinton’s hand as he departs for the Seattle trade talks—and lead to freer trade with Europe and all of South America, as well.

For his part, Clinton said he hoped he and Congress could build on the bipartisan cooperation that carried NAFTA to passage. ‘‘Tonight the leaders of both parties found common ground in voting for the common good,’‘ he said. Clinton also reached out to those who had opposed him. ‘‘They have my respect,’‘ he said.

The vote count showed 102 Democrats and 132 Republicans voting for the pact. There were 43 Republican votes against and 156 Democratic votes. The House’s lone independent, Rep. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, voted against the agreement.

A total of 245 lawmakers spoke in 13 hours of debate—more than half the Hous.

Opponents vented their anger over concessions the administration made to line up votes. ‘‘If this is such a good deal why did we almost have to give the portico away on the White House to get it?’‘ said Rep. Butler Derrick, D-S.C.

House Speaker Thomas Foley, D-Wash., who spoke last, conceded the pact wasn’t perfect. ‘‘One can always find defects and deficiencies. … But this is for this moment an opportunity to expand our trade, to reach out beyond our borders, to continue our leadership, to seize the future.’‘

Union workers and other foes of NAFTA staged one final, forlorn rally in the rain outside the Capitol. Some held up a banner that read: ‘‘That giant sucking sound—pro-NAFTA careers, 11-3-94,’‘ a reference to determination to defeat NAFTA supporters in next year’s congressional elections.

‘‘We are on the right side of this issue,’‘ said AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland in a post-vote statement.

Supporters said the agreement would open up a vast new Mexican market to American goods. Opponents said the certain result was a loss of jobs as American firms move to Mexico to take advantage of lower wages and lax worker safety and environmental regulations.

Negotiated by the Bush administration and modified through side agreements by the Clinton administration, the pact turned customary political alliances on their head.

Republican leaders said in advance they stood ready to provide a majority of the votes needed for passage—as long as Democrats delivered 100 of their 258 members—and noted ironically that Clinton would be the principal political beneficiary.

Democrats were more deeply split as two senior House leaders and dozens of labor-backed lawmakers broke with their president. Clinton recently denounced labor for using ‘‘roughshod, muscle-bound tactics’‘ by threatening to withhold support from any Democratic voting for the accord.

Kirkland fired back, saying Clinton was ‘‘clearly abdicating his role’‘ as leader of the Democratic Party by agreeing to tell Republican supporters that Democrats wouldn’t make NAFTA a 1994 campaign issue.

Joining the opponents was Ross Perot, who said approval of the agreement could lead to establishment of a third political party.

The tensions were evident as the vote neared.

‘‘This is a painful vote,’‘ said Rep. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat who said he had to ‘‘respectfully disagree’‘ with many of his labor and Democratic allies. NAFTA is an ‘‘opportunity, not a reason to panic. We have the most productive workers in the world,’‘ he said.

Angered by attacks on Mexico’s human rights record, Rep. Kika de la Garza, D-Texas, denounced ‘‘the way the people of Mexico have been depicted, the way the government of Mexico has been insulted. That really shouldn’t be the issue.’‘

Opponents seemed to hold the upper hand in the NAFTA struggle until the final few days. By then, persistent efforts to appease Congress’ concerns over local issues began to pay off, resulting in a rush of support for the pact.

Many of the late agreements were designed to protect specific industries from harm as Mexican goods were allowed into the country—products ranging from winter tomatoes to wheat to flat glass to textiles.