WASHINGTON. Oct 9: Two grassroots groups asked the United States Supreme Court to review a lower court ruling that freed the federal government from having to prepare a comprehensive environment review of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), reports Reuter.

The appeals court overturned an earlier lower-court ruling requiring an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on NAFTA. ruling that courts do not have authority to review the US trade representative's refusal to prepare on EIS on NAFTA.

The two groups were among three that initially sued the government for failing to do an EIS.

President Bill Clinton hailed last month's ruling and said It Improved his chances of getting the United Slates congress to approve the treaty liking J^xlco^lje United. States and

Canada in one large free trade zone. NAFTA is due to take effect from January I.

The petition argues that the initial lawsuit did not ask the courts to review or set aside the president's decision to submit NAFTA to congress, only to en-fprce national energy policy act's "plain language" requiring the administration to prepare an EIS.

It urged the supreme court to hear the case even If congress has already voted on NAFTA because It raised the question of whether an EIS was needed for other trade agreements such as the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The government lias 30 days to respond to the petition.

NAFTA, signed by then-president George Bush, would create a market that is about equal in size to the 12-nation European Community.