The US Senate passed a controversial
“fast-track” trade bill in a 62-37 vote on Friday. It is a key part of
President Barack Obama's pivot to Asia, which aims to counter China's rising
economic and diplomatic power via the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
The bill will now head to the House
of Representatives for a vote early next month, where it is expected to face a
tougher showdown.
If passed by the House, the
fast-track bill will give Obama the power to negotiate trade pacts with other
countries and submit them to Congress without lawmakers being able to introduce
amendments to them.
But some House Democrats have
expressed worry about the bill's impact on jobs and the environment, while some
conservatives oppose giving the White House more power.
The Senate ended debate on the bill
on Thursday in a 62-38 vote, pushing it to the forefront of Friday's agenda.
Obama called that vote "a
big step forward.”
In a close 51-48 vote Friday,
senators rejected an amendment that would’ve mandated any future trade bills to
feature penalties against countries that manipulate the value of their currency
in order to sell products overseas at lower prices.
The chamber also rejected an
amendment by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) that would have prevented approval
of the TPP if it included an Investor-State Dispute Settlement system, which
gives multinational corporations the ability to fight regulations in other
countries. Liberals have railed against the ISDS, arguing that it would allow
companies to undermine US laws.
Meanwhile, another amendment that
would’ve required Congress to approve of any additional country that wants to
join the TPP in the future.
http://rt.com/usa/261321-senate-trade-deal-authority-passes/
Republican U.S. Representative Paul Ryan said
on CNN's "State of the Union" that he was confident the measure would
also pass the House of Representatives. "We will have the votes,"
said Ryan, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. "We're doing
very well. We're gaining a lot of steam and momentum."
Comments
This is a Bad Trade Agreement that includes
more immigration, the primacy of an unelected international court and the end
of US sovereignty. This needs to fail in the US House.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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