TPP
'will remain stuck in limbo'
A
former New Zealand trade official says the Trans-Pacific Partnership
will remain stuck in limbo until American can politicians pass
legislation designed to fast-track its signing.
13
June, 2015, 10 am NZT
The
US House of Representatives has narrowly passed the fast track
authority, but another measure on aid measures for workers who lose
their jobs because of the free trade deal, was defeated.
Both
changes must be approved to pass the bill.
The
Pacific Rim trade deal would cover 40 percent of the world's economy,
including New Zealand.
Executive
director of the New Zealand International Business Forum Stephen
Jacobi said while it was a blow, there was still a chance the
legislation could still be passed next week.
He
said the two pieces of legislation could be split up so they would
not have to be passed together.
"The
fact of the matter is the Democrats have just scored an amazing own
goal."
White
House spokesperson, Josh Earnest, says it was important for
Republicans and Democrats to agree on trade adjustment, but the White
House was pleased the House advanced the "fast-track"
measure.
A
House Republican aide said Republican leaders hoped to try again next
week to pass the worker aid portion of the bill.
Meanwhile,
America's House of Representatives voted to repeal a law requiring
meat from other countries to be labelled as foreign.
New
Zealand has opposed America's country of origin labelling on meat,
saying it would be a potential trade restriction.
The
cave-in by US legislators was because they were trying to head off
trade retaliation by their neighbours Canada and Mexico.
Both
countries were preparing to impose billions of dollars in tariffs on
American foods because of the labelling.
Earlier
this year, a World Trade Organisation panel ruled that specific
origin labels on beef, chicken and pork discriminate against imported
livestock.
New
Zealand does not have mandatory country of origin labels for meat.
Congress
still needed to repeal the law.
House
passes Obama's 'fast-track' authority to negotiate trade deal
RT,
12
June, 2015
President
Barack Obama has succeeded in obtaining controversial “fast-track”
approval for his Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal in the
House of Representatives.
The
Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), as the “fast-track” powers are
officially called, passed by a vote of 219-211, giving President
Obama an unlikely victory. In a preceding vote, the House struck down
a proposal to extend the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program,
providing assistance to workers who would lose jobs as a consequence
of trade deals.
Update: House will RECONSIDER TAA next week. The TPA vote that just happened counts IF TAA passes. Up to WH to twist arms.
— Pete Schroeder (@peteschroeder) June 12, 2015
With
both the Senate and the House adopting “fast-track”
authorization, Congress will only be able to vote on the finalized
agreement, without the opportunity to offer amendments.
Many
Democrats defied the President’s request to approve the TAA,
contributing to the measure’s defeat with a 302-126 vote. After the
TPA was approved, a motion was made to re-consider that vote, opening
the possibility the House may approve TAA next week.
First
established in the 1970s, the TAA expires at the end of the current
fiscal year. The proposed legislation, rejected today in the House,
would extend the program through 2020 and expand the benefits to
public and service sector workers. Only manufacturing sector workers,
fisherman, and farmers are currently eligible for the program.
President
Obama made the rare appearance on Capitol Hill earlier on Friday,
holding hour-long talks with lawmakers and trying to persuade House
Democrats into backing the bill. Obama has had a hard time persuading
his party to support the deal, as the Democrats’ traditional voter
base of unions and labor organizations came out strongly against it.
Republicans, on the other hand, threw their support behind the TPP.
The
bill aims to implement the Trans-Pacific Partnership – a trade deal
that would link 40 percent of the world's economy. Along with the
United States, 11 other countries have taken part in TPP
negotiations: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia,
Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
The
most notable issue about the TPP is that excludes China, and serves
to counter its growing economic and diplomatic influence in the
Asia-Pacific region.
While
supporters of the TPP say it will open up new markets for American
products, opponents have raised concerns over a number of issues,
including currency manipulation, environmental protections, internet
privacy, and transparency. Additionally, they say it will harm
Americans workers, while any benefits it may produce will go to
corporations.
The
deal has also been criticized for lack of transparency, as the
contents of the TPP has been kept in strict secrecy. Rumors that
corporate lobbyists have been drafting the substance of the deal have
been given a boost by recent leaked revelations that corporations
would be allowed to sue governments in private courts over profits
lost due to regulation.
Senator
Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) proposed an amendment that would have
struck down this arrangement, known as the Investor-State Dispute
Settlement system (ISDS). Liberal Democrats have blasted the ISDS as
a means corporations could use to undermine US laws.
The
White House has argued that some degree of secrecy was necessary for
negotiating a good deal, and that critics ought to point to specific
issues in the TPP, as opposed to criticizing previous free trade
pacts.
However,
one former Obama campaign adviser who had clearance to access TPP
drafts, wrote that disclosing anything from the documents would be a
criminal offense.
“The
government has created a perfect Catch 22: The law prohibits us from
talking about the specifics of what we’ve seen, allowing the
president to criticize us for not being specific,” Michael Wessel
wrote in Politico. “Instead of simply admitting that he disagrees
with me—and with many other cleared advisors—about the merits of
the TPP, the president instead pretends that our specific, pointed
criticisms don’t exist.”
HOUSE
VOTES TO SLOW DOWN FAST TRACK FOR OBAMA’S TRADE AGENDA
12 June, 2015
Despite
last minute pressure from President Obama this morning, Democratic
lawmakers voted
down Trade
Adjustment Assistance, part of the package of bills necessary to
advance Trade Promotion Authority, which authorizes the
administration to move forward with the Trans-Pacific Partnership and
other trade agreements.
Democrats
voted against TAA, a measure long-supported by liberals to provide
job training and other assistance to workers negatively impacted by
foreign trade, as a legislative maneuver to derail the effort to pass
TPA. Both bills must be passed together so that they may be merged
with the Senate version and sent to the president’s desk.
“If
TAA slows down the fast track, I’m prepared to vote against TAA,”
said Democratic Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
The
majority of Democrats joined a number of House Republicans to sink
the package. The roll call showed it going down 126-302.
“Today
the allegedly unstoppable momentum of the White House, GOP leadership
and corporate coalition pushing Fast Track to grease the path for
adoption of the almost-completed, controversial Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) deal just hit the immovable object called
transpartisan grassroots democracy,” Lori Wallach, the director of
Public Citizens’ Global Trade Watch, said in a statement.
After
TAA failed, Republicans quickly brought up a stand-alone trade
promotion authority bill. The measure passed by
a two-vote margin. But observers note the vote was a test to see
where members stand. For a stand-alone trade promotion bill to
advance on its own, the Senate would have to take up the entire
package again.
House
Republican leaders have scheduled another
vote for TAA on Tuesday. Speaker of the House John Boehner and Obama
therefore have four days to persuade members of their parties to
swallow their objections to TAA and TPA, respectively.
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