Trade Promotion Authority (FastTrack) Legislation Introduced in Congress

Senior lawmakers reached agreement Thursday on a bipartisan trade promotion authority bill that has already ignited a fierce fight between President Barack Obama and liberal Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Two Republicans - Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan - negotiated for months on the “fast track” trade legislation with Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who has faced intense pressure from labor and progressive groups to walk away from the talks.

Obama needs the legislation to finish negotiations on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement with Japan and 10 other countries, a trade deal that would be the largest ever for the United States and mark a signature achievement for the administration.

The White House faces a particularly tough battle in the House, but is under pressure to show movement on the legislation before Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits Washington at the end of this month. Hatch said earlier today he hopes to move quickly in the Senate. The House could also advance the legislation soon.

Proponents say trade promotion authority is essential to negotiating good trade agreements because it gives other countries some assurance that lawmakers won’t pick the deal apart during congressional debate. Opponents say it is undemocratic and allows negotiators to insert provisions in trade deals that wouldn’t pass muster on their own.

Trade Promotion Authority Critical to Advancing International Trade Agreements
The National Retail Federation yesterday called on Congress to renew its commitment to international trade by approving legislation that would reauthorize Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), saying such authority is critical to advancing free trade agreements.

“We urge Congress to quickly pass TPA legislation in order to conclude trade agreements currently being negotiated”NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay

“It is vitally important that Congress support international trade by tearing down barriers to markets and reducing tariffs,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “We urge Congress to quickly pass TPA legislation in order to conclude trade agreements currently being negotiated.”

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore. and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis. introduced legislation yesterday that would renew TPA, which expired in 2007. Under TPA, Congress sets trade agreement negotiating objectives and priorities, consults with and provides oversight over the administration and retains authority to review and consider final agreements. After trade negotiations conclude, Congress is then required to approve the pacts with a straight up-or-down vote, without amendments.

“Promoting international trade will improve the lives of American families and workers,” Shay said. “Free and open trade benefits American consumers with more diverse and less expensive goods, supports American job growth and provides American companies with access to important overseas markets.”

In addition to TPA, NRF supports free trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the retroactive reauthorization of the Generalized System of Preferences.

Source: NRF-Press

The decades-old Trade Adjustment Assistance program to help retrain workers displace by trade emerged as a final obstacle in talks on the TPA bill. Many Republicans question the value of the program, but it often moves in conjunction with trade agreements to bolster Democratic support for the deals.

Those talks appeared to be mainly between Wyden and Ryan, who is said to be pushing for a lower level of funding than union groups feel is needed to run an adequate program. Hatch, Wyden and Ryan did not release details of the TAA deal. However, the bill is expected to move separately from TPA so Republicans can vote against it.

“The bottom line for us is there will be no TPA if there’s not a strong TAA,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat, told reporters Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, Wyden obtained provisions in the TPA bill that could make it easier to strip the “no amendment” fast track protections from a trade agreement if key congressional committees decide the administration has not met negotiating objectives or has failed to consult adequately with Congress during negotiations.

The specter of the pending Pacific trade deal will be one of the challenges confronted by TPA’s champions as they next attempt to gather the votes needed. The pact stirs strong emotions on both sides of the debate.

The AFL-CIO fears the trade agreement will depress wages and encourage companies to move production overseas, while business groups such as the Chamber of Commerce says it will increase exports and boost jobs.

Warren, who has turned aside pleas from progressive Democrats to run for president, put herself firmly in the labor camp at a Capitol Hill rally against the trade legislation on Wednesday.

“Are you ready to fight any more deals that say ‘we’re going to help the rich get richer and leave everybody else behind’?,” she asked to roars of approval from hundreds of steelworkers and other union members. “Workers have to fight back. I’m proud to be with you and I’m going to be with you all the way.”

The former Harvard Law School professor is a relative newcomer to the fight led by progressive Democrats like Rep. Rosa DeLauro in the House. But many hope the Massachusetts senator’s emergence as a leader of her party’s liberal wing will put pressure on prominent Democrats - including presidential candidate Hillary Clinton - to take a stand on controversial areas of Obama’s trade agenda, including the fast-track bill.

Source: Politico