Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Chairman and Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee urged renewal of Trade Promotion Authority in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.
Their support, along with support from House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI), should go a long way toward enactment of this important process.
As I've mentioned previously, Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) enables an Administration to negotiate trade agreements in consultation with Congress and submit them for an up or down vote without any amendments. This makes sure we get the best deal as our counter-parties can be confident that Congress won't ask for more after the deal is completed.
TPA isn't a partisan issue. It is a process necessary for negotiating the best agreements and actually getting them enacted so U.S. workers and farmers can benefit from increased sales of U.S. products and services overseas.
Every Member of Congress should support TPA.
TPA is a little technical, but it required to make sure Congress doesn't change the deal after it's done and we have to go back to the other country, which will extract a price.
ReplyDeleteSeems like a no-brainer, but can Congress do even a no-brainer at this point?
ReplyDelete