Hatch Renews Pledge for Quick TPA Introduction
Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, pledged to introduce a Trade Promotion Authority bill in the “next month or two” during a Jan. 30 speech at the American Enterprise Institute (here). The legislation will mostly mirror the TPA bill he, and others, co-sponsored in the last Congress, Hatch said. He championed strong intellectual property, currency and congressional consultation rules in the bill. Hatch also emphasized the need to pass renewal bills for the Generalized System of Preferences, the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill.
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Many lawmakers and industry lobbyists speculate Hatch will introduce a new bill quickly, even before that “month or two” projection (see 1501070057). Hatch said he continues to negotiate with Finance ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., in order to incorporate some of Wyden's priorities in the legislation. Once a deal is reached, “I plan to move very quickly to get the bill out of the Finance Committee and out on the Senate floor for debate,” said Hatch. “We are in real debates on the Senate Finance Committee right now.” The debate over whether to move forward initially with a trade package around TPA continues on Capitol Hill, observers say (see 1501270001).
TPA is critical to securing the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, but those agreements must also uphold strong IP and geographical indication protections, and provide strong market access abroad for U.S. producers and investors, Hatch said. He said Japan and Canada must continue to concede market access in TPP for U.S. companies, or Congress will oppose a TPP implementation bill. The U.S. and Japan are still bogged down in agriculture and auto terms of a final pact, while U.S. industry is urging the Obama administration to dismantle the Canadian dairy supply management program through TPP.