As we head into the Memorial Day weekend, the debate on Capitol Hill over trade promotion authority is running at full tilt. We’ve got a great Eggs and Issues breakfast with Rep. Matt Salmon coming up June 8 to break down all the issues over trade policy. In the meantime, David Letterman may have hung up his microphone, but it’s always a good time for a Top 10 list. Here are the top 10 things you need to know about the TPA debate in Congress.
- You can’t have free trade without Trade Promotion Authority. Trade Promotion Authority, also known as “fast track,” gives a president the ability to get an up-or-down vote from Congress on trade agreements. TPA or its equivalent has been granted to every president since Franklin Roosevelt. TPA needs to pass Congress in order to complete negotiations over new free trade deals. As of this writing, the Senate is just hours away from granting TPA. The debate will shift to the House after Memorial Day.
- The Trans-Pacific Partnership is NAFTA 2.0. Passage of TPA is so important because without it the U.S. can’t complete negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The U.S. and our trade partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement, Canada and Mexico, are all parties to the 12-nation pact, which will open new doors into the Asia-Pacific region. According to the International Monetary Fund, nearly half of the world’s economic growth over the next five years will occur in Asia. We don’t want North America’s economies on the outside looking in.
- The U.S. has its work cut out for it in Asia. Asian countries are racking up the trade agreements with one another, having inked more than 50 with more than 80 in the pipeline. The U.S., on the other hand, only has agreements with Australia, South Korea and Singapore. TPP can get us back in the game in Asia.
- This Congress needs to accomplish something big. There are very few opportunities for bipartisan agreement between this president and this Congress. Bringing to passage a once-in-a-generation trade agreement presents an opportunity for a rare bright spot in D.C. politics in 2015.
- Sen. John McCain is right on trade. Check out Sen. McCain’s weekly address for a primer on why TPA and additional trade agreements are critical to the growth of the U.S. economy. Sen. McCain rightly says that TPA will permit implementation of trade deals that represent a “truly historic opportunity to open markets and level playing fields in some of the world’s most dynamic and fastest growing economies.”
- Sen. Jeff Flake is right on trade. Our other U.S. senator, Jeff Flake, has made the opening of international markets one of his core issues during his tenure in Congress. Throughout his career he has made the forceful case for knocking down barriers to trade, especially when trade can be used to export not just U.S. goods, but American values overseas.
- Time to get off the fence and go all-in for trade. Assuming the Senate wraps up TPA this weekend, the spotlight will shift to the House, where TPA’s fate is less clear. Some Republicans there are suspicious of the president and won’t agree with him on much of anything, some Democrats are suspicious of free trade and won’t support new trade pacts, and some in both parties are on the fence. It’s time to get off the fence. Trade means jobs in Arizona and new markets for U.S.-made goods. Seven-hundred fifty thousand jobs in our state are tied to trade. This is not some esoteric debate over an obscure policy issue; it’s an issue that hits home for thousands of Arizonans.
- Trade makes the world a safer place. In case you might have missed it, the world is in a period of significant instability. International trade can provide a stabilizing force. Defense Secretary Ash Carter last month in a McCain Institute event at ASU said “passing TPP is as important to me as an aircraft carrier.” Further engagement in world markets helps export American ideals and sends the signal that Americans are ready and willing to compete in the global economy.
- First TPA, then TPP and then T-TIP. Once the president gets TPA, negotiations can move into their final stages over TPP and the pact can get a vote in Congress. After that, focus can shift to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The T-TIP would eliminate all duties and tariffs on agricultural, industrial and consumer goods between the U.S. and the European Union. The EU is a huge market for the U.S.; we sold more than $250 billion worth of goods to Europe in 2012. With a free trade deal, our products could compete with other countries who have struck similar deals with the EU.
- Pro-trade Rep. Matt Salmon talking trade on June 8. Be sure to join us on June 8 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Phoenix for a special Eggs and Issues breakfast with one of the U.S. House’s most vocal pro-trade representatives, our own Matt Salmon. The Mandarin-speaking Rep. Salmon made his mark in Congress over a decade ago when he successfully pushed for Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China. Expect Rep. Salmon to be a key voice when the trade debate shifts to the House next month.