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<b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#CC0000">Daily News<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:22.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333">Reichert Says About 15 Republicans Will Oppose TPP Over Tobacco<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Posted: December 03, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA), the chairman of the House Ways & Means trade subcommittee, warned Thursday (Dec. 3) that securing
congressional passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement will be more difficult than the winning approval of the fast-track bill in June, in part because at the moment roughly 15 House Republicans who voted for fast track would oppose TPP over
its treatment of tobacco.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Reichert, who spoke during a meeting of the President's Export Council (PEC), flagged the tobacco issue as one of three
problems that members of Congress have with TPP, the others being the term of intellectual property (IP) protection for biologic drugs and “localization issues."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">The latter refers to the fact that TPP does not ban governments from imposing requirements that financial services companies
store data on servers within their territory, an omission which has raised the ire of U.S. financial services firms.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">“Each side of the aisle has its issues,” Reichert said. “TPP is going to be harder [than fast track] ...We're going to
lose about 15 votes on the tobacco issue on the Republican side."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">But Reichert also expressed confidence that these problems identified by members can be adequately addressed so that
Congress can pass the TPP deal. “So we've got to find some ways to move issues like [tobacco] forward,” he said. “We're going to get through those [difficult issues] because we all understand how critical this is and how important it is for American jobs.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Reichert said both the administration and lawmakers were “making great progress” toward coming up with a TPP that is
acceptable to Congress. He said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman had met with members on both sides of the aisle, including Ways & Means Republicans, to discuss TPP.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">“The ambassador has been very available to meeting with both sides in listening to both sides and try to address their
concerns to create a piece of legislation, a trade agreement, that sets that high standard for free and fair trade across this globe,” Reichert said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Speaking at the same meeting, National Economic Council Director Jeff Zients said the president and the rest of his administration
will make TPP a major priority in 2016, and will work with U.S. companies to secure congressional approval the way it did for fast track, also known as Trade Promotion Authority (TPA).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">“[TPP] will be a top priority for 2016, and you will see that reflected in the president's calendar and the whole cabinet's
calendar in terms of emphasis and push,” Zients said. “The same way we were all out in partnership with you on TPA -- the same play will be run on TPP."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">For TPA, the administration engaged in a whole of government effort to gain congressional support by enlisting cabinet
members and Obama himself to call and visit with members and caucuses.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">But the White House was caught off guard when House Democrats were able to temporarily block the TPA bill by voting down
an extension of Trade Adjustment Assistance that was bundled with it. The administration then managed to save TPA by devising a plan with congressional Republicans to pass both measures separately.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Froman, who also spoke at the PEC, expressed confidence that Congress would ultimately support TPP once members better
understand said the “benefits” of the deal, but acknowledged it would not be easy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.6pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">“This is going to be a tough battle; we're already up on the Hill talking with Republicans and Democrats -- House and
Senate,” he said. “We're convinced in the end that we'll have the necessary support, but it's only going to happen if [members] fully have an understanding of the benefits of this agreement for their constituents, and how it's going to effect jobs and growth
for their companies and for their workers in their districts."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Bell MT","serif"">Michael F. Dolan, J.D.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT","serif"">Legislative Representative<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT","serif"">International Brotherhood of Teamsters<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT","serif"">Desk 202.624.6891<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT","serif"">Fax 202.624.8973<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT","serif"">Cell 202.437.2254<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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