House readies for trade package showdown

Trade Promotion Authority is on the line in today’s House vote and the Trans-Pacific Partnership could hang in the balance.    The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Friday on Trade Promotion Authority and the result could have a profound effect on whether the Obama administration is able to move forward with a sweeping free trade agreement that spans a dozen countries in Asia and the Americas.
   Lawmakers in recent days have come under increasing pressure from groups on both sides of the trade debate interested in swaying the outcome, with opponents of globalization saying the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement will hurt the middle class and industry leaders claiming it will create more well-paying jobs by opening access to U.S. goods and services in other countries.
   The vote for fast-track authority narrowly cleared a procedural hurdle on Thursday, Politico reported, with a handful of House Democrats joining pro-trade House Republicans to advance the White House trade agenda, 217-212.
   In a sign of how dicey the situation is, President Obama on Friday morning is making a rare trip up to Capitol Hill to meet with House Democrats in an effort to rescue his trade agenda, according to Politico and the N.Y Times.
   Also on the table as part of a trade package is a bill to reauthorize Trade Adjustment Assistance, a program designed to provide retraining and relocation assistance for workers displaced by employers relocating factories overseas because of favorable trade conditions. The program has not always worked as well as promised, according to experts and critics. TAA also hangs in the balance and is considered a prerequisite for passage of fast-track negotiating authority, which allows the U.S. government to speak with one voice in trade negotiations and assure partners that a ratification vote will not include any amendments by the legislature.
   House Speaker John Boehner is expected to coral a large portion of the Republican caucus to vote in favor of the trade package, but great uncertainty remains over whether enough Democrats will vote for the bill. Democrats are under heavy pressure from the progressive wing of the party, environmentalists, and labor unions to vote against the trade bills.
   Some Democrats feel funding for TAA is inadequate or have issues with the way in which it is funded. The House made changes to TAA to finance it with proceeds from late tax-return filers instead of savings from Medicare to placate some members of the party, according to the N.Y. Times. 
   TPP supporters say the deal will put rules in place to guide shifting trade patterns that are already taking place, rather than let other countries like China lead the way with less transparent and efficient practices that will make it more difficult for U.S. companies to compete around the world. 
   The Senate has already passed TPA.
   Meanwhile, the House on Thursday approved the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, which includes a 10-year renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, and retroactive renewal and update of the Generalized System of Preferences program. That bill now goes to the Senate.