Posted January 28, 2015
U.S. trade
officials could finalize the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) in the coming
months, according to a Reuters article available here.
Farm Futures also published an article available here,
Washington Post here,
and The Hill here.
The TPA,
also referred to as "fast-track," limits Congress' ability to add
amendments to key trade deals and allows Congress to take an up-or-down vote these
trade deals, according to Farm
Futures.
Ag groups
are worried that this trade deal will not advance without the Trade Promotion
Authority (TPA).
Senate
Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch also expressed concerns about TPP being
finalized before enacting TPA, according to The
Hill.
"Doing
so may lead to doubt as to whether the U.S. could have gotten a better
agreement, ultimately eroding support for TPP and jeopardizing its prospects
for passage in Congress,” said Hatch.
Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker John A. Boehner
(R-Ohio) both support the push, according to Washington
Post.
“This
president has earned our distrust, but having said that, I still support TPA,” said
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), an Obama critic and former head of the House
Oversight Committee. “I still want to have the trade team be able to go forward
and make good offers.”
Hatch also
stated that there was not a definite timeline for introducing the TPA bill,
but he hoped to move it in February, according to Reuters.
For more information on international trade, please visit
the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
