Obama Pushes Lawmakers to Tackle TPA
President Barack Obama continued his offensive to secure Trade Promotion Authority in his weekly address on Feb. 22, saying U.S. trade pacts will build on rapid American job growth over recent months and years (here). Many observers expect lawmakers to introduce a TPA bill in the coming days, and Obama has lobbied repeatedly over recent weeks for that legislation (see 1502190016).
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The Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will boost U.S. exports across a range of sectors, Obama said. He reiterated his argument that past free trade agreements have fallen short of expectations. “That doesn’t mean we should close ourselves off from new opportunities, and sit on the sidelines while other countries write our future for us,” said Obama. “We should seize those opportunities." The U.S. needs to preempt Chinese efforts to “write the rules for trade” in the Asia-Pacific, he said.
Many U.S. lawmakers and stakeholders are urging U.S. FTAs to protect cross-border data flows in order to grow the digital economy. Obama echoed those calls in his address. “More small businesses are using the internet to grow their business by reaching new customers they couldn’t reach before,” said Obama. “Nine in ten American small businesses that use eBay as a platform to sell their products are exporters – with customers in more than 30 different countries on average.”