No TPA Will Hamper Trade Negotiations, Says Chicago Tribune

Reid, D-Nev., in opposing the legislation, according to the Tribune (here). The fast-track mechanisms largely exclude Congress from the table by preventing the amendment process, said Durbin. “But that argument holds no water. In deciding what to demand in a trade deal, the administration will have to keep in mind what Congress wants -- and what it won't tolerate. Members and their concerns figure prominently in decisions about how to shape a deal. The White House knows that if it ignores the concerns of Congress, any pact would be dead on arrival,” said the editorial. “The real reason for blocking TPA is that doing so allows lawmakers to kill the talks without seeming to reject trade outright. A lot of Democrats in Congress are hostile to the idea of free trade, which organized labor has long resisted. A battle to get the bill through Congress would divide the party and present risks at the polls this November.”