Advocates Warn TPA, TPP Poised to Strip U.S. Jobs, Exacerbate Deficit
Congressional passage of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), also known as fast-track, will perpetuate a modern U.S. trade policy that is subservient to corporate interest at the expense of U.S. manufacturing jobs and global human rights, said panel speakers at a National Press Club Dec. 9 event sponsored by Economyincrisis.org. Public Citizen Global Trade Watch Director Lori Wallach and International Association of Machinists Union President Thomas Buffenbarger said lawmakers should reject TPA and pass trade authority that empowers Congress while requiring transparency in U.S. trade negotiations.
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In the coming weeks and months, proponents of TPA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership “will undoubtedly resurrect their ridiculous claim that anyone who criticizes fast-track authority and the TPP is anti-trade. They could not be more wrong,” said Buffenbarger. “Fast-track authority is very much a part of our nation’s failed policy, a trade policy that is long overdue for a major overhaul.” TPA is responsible for securing the North American Free Trade Agreement that stripped the U.S. of 700,000 jobs by 2010 and the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) that is depriving the U.S. of 40,000 jobs, said Buffenbarger, citing Economic Policy Institute research. Although KORUS entered into effect in 2012, former President George W. Bush signed the FTA into law prior to TPA's expiration in 2007.
KORUS is also fueling a growing deficit with Korea, said Buffenbarger. The U.S. deficit with Korea now totals nearly $15 billion, according to Census data released on Oct. 24 (here), up $1.5 billion since 2011. The U.S. must implement a trade policy that incorporates input from industry and manufacturing and mandates transparency in U.S. trade negotiations, said Buffenbarger. “Resurrecting the old framework of fast-track authority is not needed, not wanted and will make it easier to continue the failed trade policies of the last century,” said Buffenbarger. “With reports that TPP is nearing completion and our steadfast opposition to it, this may very well be our last opportunity to save U.S. manufacturing and ensure a sustainable and prosperous future for the next generation.” TPA renewal will secure a NAFTA-based TPP pact that will deliver similar job losses, said Buffenbarger.
Through TPA, Congress delegates to the executive branch the power to unilaterally select trade partners, set trade agreement terms, sign agreements prior to congressional approval, craft implementation language, prevent the amendment process and require a vote within 90 days of receiving finalized legislation, said Wallach. “That system is how we got into NAFTA and the WTO,” said Wallach, referring to the World Trade Organization (WTO). But major trade agreements, such as the U.S. FTA with Jordan, passed without TPA. “Since we started using fast-track, the U.S. deficit has exploded. Since NAFTA and the WTO, we have lost over 5 million of our manufacturing jobs, 40,000 factories gone and real wages down across the economy.”
Despite presidential endorsement of TPA and support from House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., and Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., lawmakers have not yet introduced legislation (see 13120528). There are only 4 days remaining on the House legislative calendar and 15 days remaining on the Senate legislative calendar. Baucus previously urged TPA passage by the end of 2013 (see 13111516). Moreover, close to 200 House members have also expressed concern and opposition to the law in recent letters to President Obama (see 13111415).
Lawmakers should push a new trade policy that abolishes the expedited procedure, said Wallach. The law must make congressional trade objectives “mandatory to condition getting any favorable treatment on the back end, having Congress actually tell the negotiators what to do and make sure they actually do it before they then give them that next step,” said Wallach. “The fact is there is enormous pressure from a very powerful corporate lobby. These trade agreements are like the corporate Christmas tree.” The administration continues to target the end of 2013 for conclusion of TPP negotiations (see 13120528).
Buffenbarger and Wallach criticized Obama Administration efforts to strike a TPP pact as opaque and corporate-pressured. As U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman participated in a TPP summit in Singapore (here), WikiLeaks on Nov. 9 released TPP documents that evidence significant discord among the 12 TPP participant nations and, according to Wallach, suggests the administration may not be able to seal the pact in the coming weeks (see 13120924). The “secret” documents reveal “the many areas of disagreement remaining,” said WikiLeaks. The USTR did not immediately return a request for comment on the authenticity of the released documents.
WikiLeaks also released a confidential Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) TPP chapter in November (see 13111323). The leaks show “the U.S. is totally isolated, except for Japan. It’s Japan and the U.S. pushing a retrograde agenda against all the other countries” that seeks “a big pharmaceutical company agenda of patent extensions, data exclusivity,” said Wallach. “Japan, despite setting its condition for being in the talks that they would negotiate on all subjects, is refusing to negotiate market access for five key agricultural products.” -- Brian Dabbs