[CTC] Obama's latest TPP foe: Black Lives Matter

Tue Nov 1 07:31:39 PDT 2016

POLITICO Pro
Obama's latest TPP foe: Black Lives Matter

By Andrew Hanna

The Obama administration will face an unexpected adversary as it gears up for what could be a blockbuster lame-duck fight over the Trans-Pacific Partnership: the Black Lives Matter movement.

The group — best known best for its protests of police shootings of African-Americans — has joined the fray over the Asian Pacific trade deal as part of its growing focus on economic issues, contending the pact would lead to greater racial injustice. It ties past trade deals to the closures of factories that have hurt black workers disproportionately and increased black poverty.

Its involvement could influence the votes of a handful of wavering Democrats, should Congress tackle TPP during the lame duck.

"There are groups that are going to pay a lot of close attention to what they say, especially the Congressional Black Caucus," said Bill Reinsch, a fellow at the Stimson Center and close trade-vote watcher.

Only a small band of 28 House Democrats voted to give the president fast track authority to complete TPP, including three members of the Congressional Black Caucus: Reps. Gregory Meeks <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a958e8ea082cadee21d8a599de4329ac2c1acbb48cc95c7fb6d21669e3cae55d> (D-N.Y.), Eddie Bernice Johnson <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a958e8ea082cadee8781b5d813b6efe20026a8431f3aa8f9d7630b38f9e4a8ba> (D-Texas) and Terri Sewell <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a958e8ea082cadeeaa9b9fe9071d1ca458b8bc73b992132392dbc8575ada2839> (D-Ala.). A fourth black caucus member, Republican Mia Love <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a958e8ea082cadeea5949a5c5435dd912a6c7c7414647e8164d00a66f095266e> of Utah, also voted for fast-track authority.

With anti-trade fervor whipped into a fever pitch by the presidential election campaign, their votes are considered key to passage of the pact — and all are under increasing pressure to abandon the president should the pact come to a ratification vote.

"As we work to stop TPP, the support of the Black Lives Matter movement is helping to educate members on the disproportionate impact of bad trade deals, especially on communities of color," said Rep. Barbara Lee <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a958e8ea082cadee04d495b42971741742e339a26e67f215329b25b48aff0e50> of California, former chair of both the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the black caucus, who is part of the whip team dedicated to ensuring TPP's defeat.

Johnson, Sewell and Love declined comment for this story, while Meeks insists his position remains firmly in support.

"I appreciate the work they're doing," he said of Black Lives Matter. "I just happen to agree with the president of the United States."

Meeks ticked off the White House's talking points about the deal that President Barack Obama touts as key to his economic and foreign policy legacy — the pact's geopolitical importance in countering the influence of China, as well as its strong labor and environmental standards. 

Focus on the lame duck

TPP is a central pillar of the administration's "Pivot to Asia," bringing together 12 Pacific nations into a free trade agreement. Secretary of State John Kerry has called <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a958e8ea082cadee6d7242781c5c8eaaae63c168c0bf275923364a3b8b9817f5> the agreement the "highest-level standard trade pact ever reached" and warned that rejecting the pact would have grave security consequences for American interests in Asia.

Obama has vowed <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a958e8ea082cadeef103bf462cfa82a1c0917b7a6c3c9f6df5a897217497f2ce> to make a strong push to ratify TPP during the post-election legislative session, although GOP leaders Paul Ryan <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a958e8ea082cadee22576bb46f5ae047997c170d15697142bb46ac1af7f7c6cb> and Mitch McConnell <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a958e8ea082cadee694cd9bd2bef93d4cdd8d7cfda5294d90ec62fdc2e7e7cf0> have been reluctant to schedule a vote. 

But if Hillary Clinton, who has vowed to oppose the TPP, wins the White House, Republican lawmakers could feel pressure to work with the Obama administration to pass the 12-nation pact.

If there is a vote, any defections from the 28 Democrats who voted for TPA could be devastating for Obama given continuing Republican concerns over biopharmaceutical and tobacco provisions.

And progressives never stopped working to increase the pressure on them. This summer, during the platform drafting of the Democratic National Committee, Rep. Keith Ellison <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a958e8ea082cadee63aeaa646a01bd49660447cdb41cc44747c57a8cd15ebc30> of Minnesota introduced an amendment explicitly opposing TPP, but the measure was voted down 10-5.

But then anti-free trade progressives received an unlikely boost. In August, the Movement for Black Lives Policy Table, a coalition of more than 50 advocacy and direct-action groups, released its platform that included a measure explicitly denouncing TPP.

"I have to really applaud the Black Lives Matter movement and the activists for recognizing that racial justice and economic justice go hand-in-hand," said Lee, a member of the DNC platform drafting committee. "It was a very bold step."

One of the groups behind the platform helped organize the first Build Black Futures Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill in September. Activists met with members of the Congressional Black Caucus to discuss issues around economic justice.

"Stopping TPP is a key concern for the Movement for Black Lives because it embodies the central systemic challenges for black and low-income communities," Opal Tometi, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter, wrote in an email. "We are forced to get involved in these types of foreign economic policy debates because they directly impact our lives."

The group also endorses other progressive economic priorities such as restructuring of the tax code and the right to affordable housing. But opposing TPP is included as one of the policy points all organizations endorsing the platform must support.

"There was consensus from the beginning that it would be a part of it," said Rachel Gilmer, co-director of Dream Defenders and a member of the platform committee. "There is clear consensus that it is a black issue."

Patrick Mason, a professor of economics at Florida State University, was brought on board to draft the anti-TPP provisions.

"Trade, in general, has contributed to the rise of inequality throughout the country," said Mason. "And it's worse than racial inequality."

Black Lives Matters is involved in the TPP fight on the grass-roots level and is working with other progressive groups, like the Sierra Club.

Obama's legacy

If successfully pushed through Congress, ratification of the trade accord would be the last major piece of legislation of the Obama presidency. The prospect that black lawmakers and activists could help to hand him a defeat is complicated by Obama's position as the first black president. 

"This is part of President Obama's legacy," said Meeks.

But Lee dismissed the idea that Obama's legacy would be tarnished by a failure to pass TPP.

"Now let me tell you, the president has a major phenomenal legacy to leave already," she said. "There's no way anyone can tell me that his legacy ... is dependent on this whole trade deal. That's just not the case."

Ultimately, Obama's legacy among African-Americans will have less to do with free trade, than his status as the first black president, many activists said.

"Disrupts his legacy?" Mason said laughing. "President Obama is intensely popular among African-Americans. It complicates things."

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