Passage of TPA is a Win for All

On June 24, 2015, the Senate followed the House’s lead and voted 60-38 in favor of H.R. 2146, which contained the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act (TPA).  After President Obama signed the bill into law on June 29, 2015, he can now “fast track” trade deals to Congress for approval by a simple majority in both chambers.  This process assures trading partners that agreements cannot be amended once a deal has been consummated.

Passage of the legislation came after months of bicameral lobbying by a coalition of strange bedfellows, including: the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) and other taxpayer organizations, business groups, congressional leaders from both parties, and President Obama.  Labor unions and liberal Democrats, who have long refused to recognize the myriad benefits associated with free trade, were the only ones who didn’t get what they wanted.

While CCAGW has long been supportive of free trade, never before has the organization had to engage so heavily on the issue.  Granting the president some form of trade promotion authority has historically been a non-controversial decision for Congress.  However, a combination of rampant misinformation in the media about TPA and wide-ranging distrust of President Obama made it a hot button issue during the first half of 2015.  CCAGW engaged in a multi-faceted campaign, including activating grassroots members to contact their members of Congress and congressional leadership, publishing op-eds, sending letters to Congress, and meeting with more than three dozen congressional offices (including 16 meetings with the members themselves).

These efforts helped secure passage of a bill that increases accountability and transparency in the trade negotiation process through the implementation of unprecedented safeguards, including:

• A requirement that the full text of any trade agreement be made publicly available for at least 60 days before being submitted to Congress for consideration.
• Allowing every member of Congress to read the negotiating text.
• A new process for Congress to turn off the expedited procedures if the administration fails to meet its TPA obligations.

The two trade deals currently being negotiated to which the United States is a party are the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP), which involve Asian and European countries, respectively.  Depending upon the final language in the agreements, both should present strong opportunities to help accelerate the growth of the U.S. economy.  According to the International Trade Administration, exports to the countries involved in TPP and T-Tip accounted for 62 percent of goods exported in 2014 and supported an estimated 4.2 million jobs.

Every president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, except Richard Nixon, has had some form of fast-track trade authority, and Nixon likely would have received the authority had he not resigned.  Simply put, TPA is essential to securing trade agreements that help create more jobs, increase wages, and lower prices.  Without it, U.S. trading partners are reluctant to even come to the negotiating table for fear that any deal struck between countries would be voted down by obstinate, parochially-opposed minorities in Congress.  TPA ensures that for at least the next six years, the United States will be writing the rules of trade and maintaining its leadership position in the global economy.  That is something about which everyone should be cheering.

– P.J. Austin