[CTC] TPP text timing...

Thu Oct 8 05:09:26 PDT 2015

Summary...
White House says it wants text public within 30 days
Hatch saying — don’t give us text until the legal scrub is done
Not mentioned in this article...
Canada promising to release text before their election (Oct 19)
Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826

Washington Trade Daily
Volume 24, Number 201 Thursday, October 8, 2015

TPP Text In 30 Days
The White House wants to get the text of the massive TransPacific Partnership trade agreement
out into the public within the next 30 days, US Trade Representative Michael Froman told reporters
yesterday (WTD, 10/7/15).

Work is ongoing with the other 11 countries involved in the TPP to finalize the details of the pact
– just concluded Monday – and complete the “legal scrub” of the text. The goal is to release the text “as
soon as possible,” he said in a telephone briefing for reporters.

White House National Economic Council Director Jeff Zients said the TPP equals a “massive
tax cut for American business.”

USTR and the Agriculture Department yesterday released reports outlining the state-by-state
benefits the TPP will produce through the reduction or elimination of some 18,000 tariffs.

The Administration is confident it can convince Congress and the American public that the TPP
is the best possible deal, Mr. Zients said. “The more people know, the more they will be persuaded this
is the right thing to do.”

Mr. Zients added that he is confident the TPP will garner bipartisan support.

Sen. Hatch

But a key Senate Republican said yesterday that he’s worried the Administration has negotiated
an agreement that will not have enough votes to pass. “I’m worried that we didn’t get as good a deal as
we could have,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said on the Senate floor.

“I’m worried that the Administration didn’t achieve a balanced outcome covering the Congressional
negotiating objectives set out in TPA.”

The Administration must provide Congress with the full text of the agreement, including annexes
and side agreements, before the President can provide his 90-day notice of intent to sign the pact, Sen.
Hatch pointed out. That will give Congress the time it needs to review the agreement and have “deep
and meaningful consultations” with the Administration. “The law was designed specifically to give
Congress all the necessary tools to conduct an exhaustive evaluation of any and all trade agreements and
to ensure the Administration is fully accountable both to Congress and to the public,” he said.

His House counterpart, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc), said
yesterday he will withhold judgement on the TPP until he reads the text. “I’m hopeful, but there are
some concerns I have with some of the provisions,” he said in an interview on MSNBC. “It’s going to
take some time to scrub through this agreement, to render final judgment.”

“It’s an enormous agreement and I think we need to be cautious about it,” Mr. Ryan added.

Campaign 2016
Clinton Now Opposes TPP
Presidential contender Hillary Clinton jumped off the “fence” yesterday and joined her other two
colleagues running for the Presidency in opposing the TransPacific Partnership (see related report this
issue).
In a statement issued yesterday, Ms. Clinton said that from what she knows of the free trade
agreement she cannot support it. The candidate had withheld her judgement until yesterday.
The candidate’s two chief concerns are its weak language on currency manipulation and new
provisions that benefit multinational drug manufacturers.
Ms. Clinton stated – “As I have said many times, we need to be sure that new trade deals meet
page 2 Washington Trade Daily
clear tests. They have to create good American jobs, raise wages and advance our national security. The
bar has to be set very high for two reasons –
! “First, too often over the years we haven’t gotten the balance right on trade. We’ve seen
that even a strong deal can fall short on delivering the promised benefits. So I don’t believe we can
afford to keep giving new agreements the benefit of the doubt. The risks are too high that, despite our
best efforts, they will end up doing more harm than good for hard-working American families whose
paychecks have barely budged in years” and
! “Second, we can’t look at this in a vacuum. Years of Republican obstruction at home
have weakened US competitiveness and made it harder for Americans who lose jobs and pay because of
trade to get back on their feet. Republicans have blocked the investments that we need and that
President Obama has proposed in infrastructure, education, clean energy and innovation. They’ve
refused to raise the minimum wage or defend workers’ rights or adequately fund job training.”
“As a result, America is less competitive than we should be. Workers have fewer protections, the
potential positive effects of trade are diminished and the negative effects are exacerbated. We’re going
into this with one arm tied behind our backs.”
The candidate continued – “I still believe in the goal of a strong and fair trade agreement in the
Pacific as part of a broader strategy both at home and abroad, just as I did when I was Secretary of State.
I appreciate the hard work that President Obama and his team put into this process and recognize the
strides they made. But the bar here is very high and, based on what I have seen, I don’t believe this
agreement has met it.”
Candidate O’Malley
Candidate Martin O’Malley in turn jumped on candidate Clinton shortly after her
announcement. He noted in a statement that he had long been opposed to the TPP – long before
Candidate Clinton yesterday reversed her own opinion of the trade agreement.
A statement said that Governor O’Malley has been an outspoken critic of the TPP because he
believes the deal is not in the best interest of American workers and will not raise labor and
environmental standards.”

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