Alabama senator Jeff Sessions, a
Republican, has written a letter to President Barack Obama regarding the request that
Congress "fast-track" legislation on Trade Promotion Authority.
Sessions says he has a number of questions Congress should expect answers to
before the body agrees to "yield its institutional powers." Read the
full letter below:
Dear Mr. President:
You have asked Congress to approve
fast-track legislation (Trade Promotion Authority) that would allow
international trade and regulatory agreements to be expedited through Congress
for the next six years without amendment. Fast-track, which proponents hope to
adopt within days, would also ensure that these agreements—none of which have
yet been made public—could pass with a simple majority vote, rather than the 67
votes applied to treaties or the 60 votes applied to important legislative
matters.
The first international trade and
regulatory agreement that would be expedited under “fast-track” is the
Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. This is one of the largest international
compacts in the history of the United States. Yet, this agreement will be kept
a closely-guarded secret until after Congress agrees to yield its institutional
powers and provide the Administration with a guaranteed “fast-track” to
adoption.
The U.S. ran a record $51.4 billion
trade deficit in March, the highest-level recorded in six years. This is
especially concerning since assurances were made from the Administration that
the recent South Korea free trade deal would “increase exports of American
goods by $10 billion to $11 billion.” But, in fact, American domestic exports
to Korea increased by only $0.8 billion, an increase of 1.8 percent, while
imports from Korea increased $12.6 billion, an increase of 22.5 percent. Our
trade deficit with Korea increased $11.8 billion between 2011 and 2014, an
increase of 80.4 percent, nearly doubling in the three years since the deal was
ratified.
Overall, we have already lost more
than 2.1 million manufacturing jobs to the Asian Pacific region since 2001.
Former Nucor Steel Chairman Daniel
DiMicco argues that we have not been engaged in free trade but in “unilateral
trade disarmament and enablement of foreign mercantilism.”
Due to the enormity of what is at
stake, I believe it is essential Congress have answers to the following
questions before any vote is scheduled on “fast-track” authority.
1. Regarding the “Living Agreement”:
There is a “living agreement” provision in TPP that allows the agreement to be
changed after adoption—in effect, vesting TPP countries with a sweeping new
form of global governance authority. TPP calls this new global authority the
“Trans-Pacific Partnership Commission.” These measures are unprecedented. While
I and other lawmakers have been able to view this provision in secret, I
believe it must be made public before any vote is scheduled on TPA, due to the
extraordinary implications. I call on you today to make that section of TPP
public for the American people to see and review.
2. Regarding trade deficits: Will
TPP increase or reduce our cumulative trade deficit with TPP countries overall,
and with Japan and Vietnam specifically?
3. Regarding jobs and wages: Will
TPP increase or reduce the total number of manufacturing jobs in the United
States generally, and American auto-manufacturing jobs specifically, accounting
for jobs lost to increased imports? Will average hourly wages for U.S. workers,
including in the automobile industry, go up or down and by how much?
4. Regarding China: Can TPP member
countries add new countries, including China, to the agreement without future
Congressional approval?
5. Regarding foreign workers: TPA is
a six-year authority. Can you state unconditionally that no agreement or
executive action throughout the lifetime of TPA will alter the number,
duration, availability, expiration enforcement, rules, or processing time of
guest worker, business, visitor, nonimmigrant, or immigrant visas to the United
States?
Thank you for your responses to
these questions. Congress has an obligation to defend the legitimate interests
of U.S. workers, and the rights of all Americans as citizens of a sovereign
Republic.
Very truly yours, Jeff Sessions U.S. Senator
May 8, 2015 For Immediate Release
Contact: Stephen
Miller, 202.224.4124
Sessions On Fast-Track: Time To Listen To The Concerns Of
The American People
“The time has come when we should enter into no trade
agreement, not one, in which we lose a single job in this country as a result
of unfair competition… I think we need to listen to the American people. By
more than a 2-1 margin, they say [that] these trade agreements have advantaged
our competitors rather than us.” – Jeff Sessions
Comments
Vote NO. We don’t want to approve any trade
treaty we can’t read. It’s Obamacare all over again.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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