The last realistic hope for scuttling the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement – the US House of Representatives vote on whether to grant President Obama so-called “Fast Track” authority so that the President can negotiate an agreement and have Congress pass it without amendment – is on a knife edge, with entrenched opposition from Democrats combining with right faction Republicans to oppose the deal. From The New York Times:
Only 17 Democrats out of 188 have come out in favor of so-called fast-track authority — and many of them are being hounded by labor and environmental groups to change their minds. Opponents of the trade deal say just seven Democrats remain truly undecided…
“We’re not quite there, but we’re getting close,” said Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and co-author of the trade legislation. But Mr. Obama, he added, “needs to deliver some votes. It’s just that clear”…
Many of the most conservative Republicans simply do not want to give this president anything…
Meanwhile, The Atlantic is reporting that the vote for Fast Track is “too close to call” and will likely pass or fail “by a handful of votes”:
[In a] first for the Obama presidency, the White House has been left to whip votes without the public support of a single Democratic leader in Congress. “This thing is too close to call,” said Representative G.K. Butterfield, a North Carolina Democrat and the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. “I predict it will either pass or fail by a handful of votes”…
Senior congressional aides in both parties say there are around 200 Republican votes for the bill, but just 17 or 18 Democrats—out of 188 total—in favor of it. That puts the count dangerously near the threshold of 217 or 218 (depending on how many absences there are) that the measure needs to pass.
As I have argued repeatedly for nearly two years, the TPP has absolutely nothing to do with advancing the cause of free trade. Rather, it is about significantly strengthening the pricing power of the powerful US pharmaceutical and digital industries, in turn lessening competition, and worsening outcomes for consumers and taxpayers alike.
Let’s hope that resistance from within the US Democratic Party is enough to prevent Fast Track authority, in turn scuttling the deal.
If you are an Australians concerned about the TPP, consider sending our politicians a message by signing this Change.org petition demanding public release of the TPP text.
