[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”0″ padding_right=”0″ hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline solid” sep_color=”#000000″ margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Senate clears trade promotion bill to give President Obama the authority to wrap up TPP[/title][fusion_text]Thursday, June 25th 2015
The Senate has cleared a trade promotion bill that will give President Obama the authority he says he needs to wrap up a trade agreement with Japan and 10 other Pacific Rim nations. The 60-38 vote giving final congressional approval to the fast-track bill (HR 2146) was somewhat anticlimactic, given the fierce struggle in the Senate and House that had preceded it. The Trade Promotion Authority bill, which sets negotiating objectives for new trade deals and establishes the congressional process for approving them, now goes to Obama for his signature. The Senate’s top pro-trade Democrat, Ron Wyden of Oregon, said there’s still time for Congress to consider the Trans-Pacific Partnership before the presidential campaign heats up in 2016, although the TPA process means it will be at least four or five months after the deal is finalized before Congress can vote on it. The text of the final agreement must be public for 60 days before the president can sign it. After that it will take another two or three months for the analysis to be completed before the deal goes before Congress. Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, told reporters that the trade agreement should be easier to explain to constituents than TPA. Wyden was among 13 Democrats who were crucial to getting TPA past procedural votes in May and again on Tuesday that required a 60-vote majority. Wednesday’s final vote required only a simple majority. The passage of TPA represented a long-sought victory for agricultural interests who expect to be among the biggest winners from the Trans-Pacific Partnership
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