House Democrats Stay Course on TPA, TPP Opposition
The Trade Promotion Authority legislation poised for floor consideration in both chambers of Congress fails to outline enforceable congressional mandates for U.S. trade negotiations, and many Trans-Pacific Partnership countries view the legislation as an opportunity to resist U.S. TPP demands, said House Ways and Means ranking member Sandy Levin, D-Mich., on April 29.
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The TPA bill, which the Ways and Means and Finance committees approved last week, lays out dozens of negotiating objectives across the spectrum of traditional and emerging trade issues. Those objectives, however, provide far too much room for interpretation, and therefore Congress can’t have confidence the administration will meet congressional demands in trade negotiations, said Levin. “If we pass TPA the way it’s now framed, I think it’s going to reduce the incentives of other countries in many respects to come forth [with concessions],” said Levin at an event hosted by Politico. “That’s going to be true as to worker rights, I think, with Mexico and Vietnam. I think it’s going to be true with state-owned enterprises in Singapore and Vietnam.”
Levin has for months taken a high-profile absence from TPA negotiations between Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senate Finance leadership. Republicans and Senate Finance ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., outright rejected Levin’s proposals for TPA, so Levin said he chose to float his own version of the legislation, rather than trying to influence the prevailing TPA bill. Levin again championed his TPA alternative, which Ryan prevented from consideration at the committee markup on April 23. That legislation (here) provides the administration “instructions” on locking down currency rules and other trade agreement provisions.
TPP negotiators haven’t reached agreement on a range of critical issues in the talks, and the Obama administration needs to work with Congress to ensure TPP benefits U.S. interests, said Levin. The flawed U.S. trade model in place continues to contribute to stagnation of middle class wages, he said.
Despite Levin's reluctance to predict House votes on TPA, which is also known as fast-track, lawmakers in that chamber are still able to defeat the committee-approved legislation, said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., along with several Democratic colleagues, on an April 28 conference call. These lawmakers, as well as other House Democrats, have for months criticized secrecy in Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, and have argued TPA will pave the way for the U.S. to close a harmful TPP deal.
The lawmakers railed against the Obama administration’s resistance to negotiate currency rules in TPP. The U.S. should opt out of a TPP deal that lacks rules against currency manipulation, said the lawmakers. “We should be willing to walk away on this issue alone,” said DeLauro. “If the TPP does not include enforceable currency provisions that is all the more reason to deny it fast-track now.” The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has refused to release TPP negotiating proposals to the public. A key Japanese official recently said currency rules would shatter TPP talks (see 1503050011).
The House Ways and Means Committee approved TPA and a set of other trade bills on April 23 (see 1504240021). The trade legislation is now prepared for floor time, with the Senate is expected to act first (see 1504270008). The number of Democratic supporters for TPA is still unclear, but some trade experts recently said there may only be a few dozen Republican defectors. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, can lose 28 Republicans on any vote and still pass the bill, following that party’s electoral gains in 2014.
President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to lead TPP negotiations to a close following an April 28 summit at the White House. The two sides have continued to battle over bilateral terms of a final TPP deal. On the conference call, Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., said Japanese tariff reductions alone won’t open the country to U.S. exports. “We export almost no automobiles to Japan. That’s not because Japan relies on tariffs,” said Sherman. “It’s because Japan relies, not only on currency manipulation, but discriminatory taxes, standards, entry procedures, distribution structures, zoning requirements…”
USTR has said it continues to negotiate with Japan over non-tariff barriers for U.S. autos, although the agency has remained tight-lipped about the details of the bilateral talks. U.S. agricultural exporters also complain about Japanese regulatory barriers (see 1410290029).