[CTC] TPP: Doubling down on failed trade policy

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Fast Track is a Legislative Laxative that is bad for the Constitution.


CQ NEWS
March 1, 2013 – 4:38 p.m.
Administration Scales Up Trade Ambitions, to Seek Fast-Track Authority
By Ben Weyl, CQ Roll Call
The Obama administration says it is ready to work with Congress to renew fast-track trade authority, setting the stage for months of legislative work in a bid to open markets around the world.

The administration on Friday released a 2013 trade policy agenda that calls on lawmakers to establish trade promotion authority, which provides for speedy congressional consideration of trade deals.

“To facilitate the conclusion, approval, and implementation of market-opening negotiating efforts, we will also work with Congress on Trade Promotion Authority,” said the report released by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. “Such authority will guide current and future negotiations, and will thus support a jobs-focused trade agenda moving forward.”

President Barack Obama is hoping to conclude by year’s end a new trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership with 10 other Pacific Rim countries. The United States also has launched negotiations with the European Union on a new trade agreement.

Trade promotion authority allows for expedited congressional consideration of trade deals, and is generally considered necessary for Congress to pass an agreement.

Under fast-track rules, a trade deal must receive an up-or-down vote in both chambers, without amendment, within 90 days of being submitted by the White House. No trade agreement submitted under those procedures has ever been rejected by Congress.

Congressional Republicans have long criticized Obama for not requesting a renewal of the authority, which expired in 2007, and business groups point to it as evidence of the administration’s limited ambitions for trade.

But Obama’s allies in organized labor are largely skeptical of expanding global trade. Many Democrats are also likely to be anxious about any prospective fast-track bill.

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, the top Republican on the Finance Committee, called the authority “the linchpin” of U.S. trade policy, and urged Obama to make it a top priority. He and Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., have promised to work together on the matter in the coming months.

“While I’m pleased that the White House has finally heeded my call and is asking for its renewal, making TPA a reality requires more than talk,” Hatch said. “It demands real leadership and action from the president.”

The business community, which is also lobbying for new legislation, is likely to be cheered by the administration’s language.

The National Association of Manufacturers, on release of the report, urged the administration and Congress to work together to pass fast-track legislation, saying it is “vital to accelerating and implementing comprehensive market-opening negotiations.”

Source: CQ News
Round-the-clock coverage of news from Capitol Hill.
© 2013 CQ Roll Call All Rights Reserved.

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