Rep. Levin Makes Case for Bipartisan Consensus on TPP
Despite more than four years of Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, negotiators are still not meeting eye-to-eye on many critical issues in a potential pact, said House Ways and Means ranking member Sandy Levin, D-Mich., in an outline of his prescription for a final TPP agreement (here). Levin is a frequent critic of U.S. trade policy and is considered an important hold-out on Trade Promotion Authority (see 1412050028).
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Levin said U.S. negotiators should hammer out a deal that liberalizes important agriculture and auto trade. The U.S. has still not publicly reached an agreement with TPP partner Japan on its agricultural tariffs and auto regulations. “To date, the Administration has taken the position that any reduction to the U.S. auto tariff will be tied to the longest period negotiated on any other product line between any two TPP parties, possibly leaving the outcome of this issue in the hands of other parties, and possibly pitting one U.S. industry against another,” said Levin. “The administration has not stated a specific period of time for when the phase-out would begin or when it would end.”
Currency manipulation must also be included in an agreement, despite the fact that it has not yet been broached in negotiations, said Levin. Currency is a hot-button and divisive issue, with many Democrats insisting on strong currency rules while many Republicans reject those rules (see 1412080033). “The TPP Agreement should include enforceable rules requiring each TPP Party to avoid manipulating exchange rates to gain an unfair competitive advantage in international trade, consistent with each TPP party’s longstanding [International Monetary Fund] obligations,” said the briefing. Levin also laid out his case for TPP rules relating to rules of origin, food safety measures, state-owned enterprises and a number of other issues