TRADE PACT GETS A BOOST
Top lawmakers reach deal on ‘fast track’
Top lawmakers reached a deal Thursday on legislation to grant President Obama “fast track” trade authority to advance one of the largest trade pacts in history, a step that could set off one of the sharpest legislative battles of the year and put Democratic unity to the test.
The bill is a top priority for the administration and congressional Republicans, but the fast track bill and the underlying TransPacific Partnership (TPP), a trade deal between the U.S. and 11 AsiaPacific nations, is roundly opposed by major labor unions and most congressional Democrats.
Senate Finance Committee leaders Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Ron Wyden, D- Ore., along with House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., announced the deal in a statement.
“This is a smart, bipartisan compromise that will help move America forward,” Hatch said. In a statement, Obama said he would seek a trade pact that benefited American workers and that the U.S. needed to engage on trade in the face of fastgrowing Asian economies.
“It’s no secret that past trade deals haven’t always lived up to their promise, and that’s why I will only sign my name to an agreement that helps ordinary Americans get ahead,” he said. “At the same time, at a moment when 95% of our potential customers live outside our borders, we must make sure that we, and not countries like China, are writing the rules for the global economy.”
Democrats face tremendous pressure from labor unions and party activists to oppose the agreement.
“For decades, we’ve seen how fast-tracked trade deals devastated our communities through lost jobs and eroded public services,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who opposes the legislation. “We can’t afford another bad deal that lowers wages and outsources jobs.”
If enacted, TPP would affect nearly 1 billion people around the globe, two-thirds of global gross domestic product, and 65% of global trade.
Wyden has been under political pressure to oppose fast track. Democratic activists have said they would seek a primary challenger against him next year on the issue of trade alone. Jim Dean, chairman of the liberal advocacy group Democracy for America, said there is “simply no excuse for any Democrat who votes for fast track.” He said the vote would be as politically significant as the vote to authorize the Iraq War and “will never be forgotten and will haunt members of Congress for years to come.”
In a statement, Wyden touted terms secured in the agreement that he said will promote human rights, labor conditions and free speech. “Opening foreign markets, where most of the world’s consumers reside, is critical to creating new opportunities for middle-class American jobs,” Wyden said.