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31 January 2007
Bush Asks Congress for Continued Trade Negotiating Authority
Proponents of “fast track” consideration cite progress in global trade talks
Washington -- With Democrats seeking to renegotiate several pending free-trade agreements and progress being made to resurrect long-stalled global trade negotiations, President Bush has asked Congress to renew trade promotion authority (TPA), otherwise known as fast track.
The existing authority, which expires on July 1, allows the president to negotiate trade agreements and then send them to Congress for an up-or-down vote without amendment and on a strict timetable.
The administration would have to submit any agreement covered by the existing TPA grant by April 2. Free-trade agreement negotiations with South Korea and Malaysia are struggling.
“Presidents of both parties have considered this authority essential to completing good trade agreements,” Bush said in January 31 remarks in New York. “I ask Congress to renew it.
"I know there's going to be a vigorous debate on trade. … But walling off America from world trade would be a disaster for our economy," Bush said. "Congress needs to reject protectionism and to keep this economy open to the tremendous opportunities that the world has to offer.”
Without TPA, foreign trade officials would be reluctant to negotiate any trade deal with the United States, whether it be a free-trade agreement or a global trade accord, for fear that Congress would be able to alter the agreement.
A day earlier in Geneva, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, in talking about the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations called the Doha round, told reporters that she and other trade ministers have “a new sense of optimism and a sense of momentum that had been sorely lacking since July [2006].” (See related text.)
Schwab and some trade officials from key countries met in Davos, Switzerland, during the World Economic Forum in late January to see whether there was some common ground to restart the trade round. More than five years after launching in Doha, Qatar, the negotiations remain stalled after their suspension in July 2006 over persistent differences about agriculture reform.
“There was clear agreement on the need to move forward with the Doha round and a sense of urgency that, if at all possible, we need to identify a means of achieving a breakthrough,” Schwab said.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns separately announced January 31 details of the administration’s proposals for a new multiyear farm bill that would further reduce U.S. domestic supports for agriculture. (See related article.)
Also pending are free-trade agreements with Peru, Panama and Colombia. Congressional Democrats have said they are unlikely to approve these agreements, or any future ones, until the administration includes provisions in them requiring countries to strengthen rules on labor rights and environmental protection. (See related article.)
“Fast-track negotiating authority is vital to U.S. trade, but it can be a stronger tool to create the jobs and economic prosperity our families deserve,” Senator Max Baucus, Democratic chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said January 30. “I see reauthorization as an opportunity to address Americans’ legitimate concerns on trade, with more vigorous enforcement of laws and agreements, greater congressional consultation -- so we can fight for workers and businesses back home -- and better labor and environmental standards.
"Trade negotiating authority is a valuable tool for the administration, but it requires a great deal of trust, and Congress must have some key assurances before it is willing to extend this leverage," Representative Charles Rangel, Democratic chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said the same day.
The Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee have jurisdiction over most U.S. trade policy legislation.
But Republican lawmakers and U.S. business representatives will be lobbying hard for TPA, which they say is critical to gaining greater access to foreign markets.
“In addition to approving pending FTAs with key Latin American trading partners, the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) believes timely passage of renewed trade negotiating authority … is essential to continued U.S. leadership on trade,” NFTC President Bill Reinsch told Congress January 30. “With recent positive signs that the United States, EU and other WTO members, are committed to achieving a breakthrough on the Doha Round to enable the trade talks to conclude on a timely and ambitious basis, TPA renewal will be critical to the ultimate success of the Round.”
The 92-year-old NFTC is composed of U.S. companies that support an open global trading system.
Opposing the president’s request January 31 was John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, the country’s largest labor organization.
“Any agreement that gets the expedited consideration and an up-or-down vote included in fast track must include enforceable core international worker rights and enforceable environmental standards,” he said.
A full transcript of Bush's January 31 remarks on the economy and a fact sheet presenting an overview of the economy are available on the White House Web site.
For more information on U.S. policies, see USA and the WTO.
