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The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal: Legislation

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This page was last updated in 2017, when the United States ended Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal negotiations. Please contact us us with any updates.


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The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal (TPP)

For more on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, view the following articles:
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Federal policy on trade, 2017-2020
Trump administration officials on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, 2016-2018
115th Congress on trade
2016 presidential candidates on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)
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Legislation regarding the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal created unlikely alliances on Capitol Hill. President Barack Obama (D) and two of his longtime opponents and critics, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and former Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio), worked together to convince Congress that the TPP was a strong trade deal that would help American workers.

"The President Signs Bills that Modernize U.S. Trade Policy," June 29, 2015.

Together, they were able to get trade promotion authority (TPA), also known as fast-track authority, passed. TPA gives the president the ability to negotiate trade deals and requires Congress to cast a simple up or down vote on a deal without amendments or filibustering. Obama argued that TPA would help ease the passage of the TPP, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)—a trade deal with the European Union—and future trade deals. Congress also passed trade adjustment assistance (TAA), which provided American workers who lost jobs due to globalization with employment-related assistance. Obama signed TPA and TAA into law on June 29, 2015.[1]

Legislation introduced by Congress regarding the trade deal is summarized below.

Legislation

S 995 and HR 1890 - the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015
On April 16, 2015, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced S 995 - the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015. The following day Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) introduced HR 1890 - the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015. HR 1314 was used as a legislative vehicle for the proposed trade legislation with the titles "Trade Act of 2015" and the "Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015." The bills proposed the following:[2][3]

  • Stating overall trade negotiating objectives and the principal trade negotiating objectives of the United States.
  • Trade Agreements Authority: Authorizing "the President to enter into trade agreements with foreign countries for the reduction or elimination of tariff or nontariff barriers." The president would have this authority through July 1, 2018, and it could be extended until July 1, 2021.
  • Subjecting "trade agreements to congressional oversight and approval, consultations, and access to information requirements."
  • Requiring the president to notify Congress and the American people of the intent to enter a trade agreement at least 90 days before entering the agreement, submit the text of a trade agreement for review at least 60 days before entering into an agreement and release the final text of the agreement for public viewing.
  • Including small businesses in the trade negotiation process.


HR 1314 - the Trade Act of 2015
On March 4, 2014, Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.) introduced HR 1314 - the Trade Act of 2015. The bill proposed giving the president trade promotion authority and extending trade adjustment assistance.[4]

On June 12, 2015, the House conducted a bifurcated vote of the bill. The first measure to authorize TAA failed 126-302.[5] Although the trade adjustment assistance program, which provided assistance to unemployed American workers impacted by foreign trade, was generally supported by Democrats prior to the introduction of this legislation, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) discouraged her caucus from voting in favor of the measure as a way to halt TPA.[6] Only forty Democrats voted in favor of TAA.[5] Since TAA was packaged with TPA in a single bill, one could be enacted without the other in this form. A token vote was still held for TPA and it narrowly passed in the House, 219-211.[7]

HR 2146 - the Defending Public Safety Employees' Retirement Act
On April 30, 2015, Rep. David Reichert (R-Wash.) introduced HR 2146 - the Defending Public Safety Employees' Retirement Act. The bill proposed giving the president trade promotion authority (TPA) and amending the "Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the exemption from the 10% penalty tax on early distributions from a government retirement plan for qualified public safety employees who have reached age 50, to expand the exemption to include specified federal law enforcement officers, customs and border protection officers, federal firefighters, and air traffic controllers who similarly have reached age 50."[8]

On June 18, 2015, the House voted to authorize TPA alone as an amendment to HR 2146 by a vote of 218-208, with all voting members of the House maintaining his or her original position on TPA except for Ted Yoho (R-Fla.).[9][10] The Senate passed this stand-alone TPA legislation on June 24, 2015, by a vote of 60-38.[11]

Legislation timeline

  • June 12, 2015: The House of Representatives conducted a bifurcated vote of HR 1314. The first measure to authorize trade adjustment assistance failed by a vote of 126-302, and the second measure to grant fast-track authority to the president passed by a vote of 219-211. The House agreed to a motion to reconsider TAA.[5][7][16]
  • May 22, 2015: The Senate used HR 1314 as a legislative vehicle to pass trade legislation by a vote of 62-37.[17][18]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. The White House, "On Trade, Here’s What the President Signed into Law," June 29, 2015
  2. Congress.gov, "S 995 - the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015," accessed May 14, 2015
  3. Congress.gov, "HR1890 - the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015," accessed May 14, 2015
  4. Congress.gov, "HR 1314," accessed September 6, 2015
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Clerk of the House of Representatives, "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 361," accessed June 12, 2015
  6. The Hill, "House deals humiliating blow to Obama in trade fight," June 12, 2015
  7. 7.0 7.1 Clerk of the House of Representatives, "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 362," accessed June 12, 2015
  8. Congress.gov, "HR 2146," accessed September 6, 2015
  9. Clerk.House.gov, "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 374," June 18, 2015
  10. Politico, "Trade turnaround: House backs new power for Obama," June 18, 2015
  11. Senate.gov, "Roll Call for HR 2146," accessed June 30, 2015
  12. The White House, "On Trade, Here’s What the President Signed into Law," June 29, 2015
  13. Senate.gov, "Roll Call for HR 2146," accessed June 30, 2015
  14. Clerk.House.gov, "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 374," June 18, 2015
  15. Politico, "Trade turnaround: House backs new power for Obama," June 18, 2015
  16. Clerk of the House of Representatives, "House Floor Activities, Legislative Day of June 12, 2015," June 12, 2015
  17. Senate.gov, "H.R. 1314 (Ensuring Tax Exempt Organizations the Right to Appeal Act)," accessed May 25, 2015
  18. Congress.gov, "HR 1314," accessed May 25, 2015
  19. Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on Hatch Amdt. No. 1221 to H.R. 1314)," accessed May 21, 2015
  20. Senate.gov, "On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed (Upon Reconsideration, Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to H.R. 1314)," accessed May 15, 2015
  21. Senate.gov, "On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to H.R. 1314)," accessed May 14, 2015
  22. WaysandMeans.House.gov, "Ways and Means Advances Trade Priorities and Accountability Act," accessed May 14, 2015
  23. Finance.Senate.gov, "Results of Executive Session," accessed May 14, 2015