Hatch Questions Whether Administration Will Conclude Pending Trade Negotiations
Senate Finance Committee ranking member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah., expressed “concern” over whether Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will actually come to fruition in an April 8 speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Should they conclude, Hatch also questioned whether the agreements will achieve the high-level of ambition necessary to benefit U.S. interests. U.S. trade policy is littered with failures to conclude agreements, said Hatch.
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“These complex negotiations are not currently authorized by Congress and the Congress has not formally anticipated the standards the agreements must meet in order to be approved,” said Hatch, in reference to the current absence of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). Hatch introduced the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act in January, alongside House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., former Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont.
“Our bill ensures that Congress retains clear authority over the scope of the implementing bill as well as enhances congressional oversight over on-going trade negotiations,” said Hatch. “This administration’s enthusiasm for TPA seems tepid at best.” Current Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., pledged in recent days to craft another TPA bill that is able to garner more bipartisan support in Congress. Democrats widely oppose the Hatch legislation.