April 17, 2015
US Congress introduces Trade Promotion Authority bill that seeks to open markets
A US bipartisan and bicameral bill was introduced Thursday, April 16, seeking to set up a Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) that establishes concrete rules for international trade negotiations to help the United States deliver strong, high-standard trade agreements that will boost American exports.
The legislation, known as the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (TPA-2015), allows for trade deals to be submitted to Congress for an up-or-down vote, an incentive for negotiating nations to put their best offer forward for any deal.
At the same time, the bill creates a new mechanism to withdraw TPA procedures and hold the administration accountable should it fail to meet the requirements of TPA.
"If we want to have a healthy economy with better jobs and bigger paychecks for more families and individuals, we must engage with other nations through trade. Our nation has been without Trade Promotion Authority since 2007. So, while other nations have moved forward and created trade agreements to benefit their workers, the United States has fallen behind," said one of the bill authors, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (Republican-Utah.
The US National Chicken Council hailed the bill's introduction and batted for its prompt passage as it would "strengthen the position of US international trade negotiators as they continue to move forward with new agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership".
It noted that at one time, Russia and China were the US' two largest poultry export markets but that these two markets have been severely disrupted with trade curtailed from previous levels. "It is now more important than ever to expand poultry sales to other world markets", said National Chicken Council President Mike Brown.
"Passage of TPA would help ensure foreign access for US chicken, generate more farm income, jobs in rural districts, and improve the US trade balance," he added.
