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| Obama Speech to Joint Session of Congress (Image: Wiki Commons) |
By Mina Pollmann
As Abe heads to the US, Congress remains a potential stumbling block for TPP negotiations.
With Washington D.C. all abuzz preparing for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s upcoming visit – which will include an official summit meeting with President Barack Obama and a joint congressional address – one of the top issues in the Beltway these days is the question of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), which could make or break negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
The TPP, a trade deal being negotiated among 12 states including the United States and Japan, would cover a third of world trade. Many policymakers and scholars consider TPP a critical component of the U.S. “rebalance” to Asia, and thus argue the negotiations should be seen in strategic as well as economic terms. As such, getting TPA, which will allow Congress to only vote up-or-down on any negotiated deal – precluding them from making any last-minute amendments – is seen as critical to the success of the Obama administration’s Asia policy.
House and Senate committees introduced legislation that would give President Obama “fast-track authority,” another name for TPA, but with stipulations such as limits on currency manipulation, restrictions on imports produced by child labor, and prohibition of any country considered a violator of human-trafficking laws. However, the debate is far from over. Obama’s toughest challenge may come from his own party — Republicans generally favor the trade deal, while Democrats oppose the bill because of labor and environmental considerations. For example, Paul Ryan, who ran as vice-presidential candidate in 2012 against Obama, defended giving the administration greater authority, while prominent Democrats Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren have been putting up significant opposition.
Read the full story at The Diplomat