Without Fast Track, Major Trade Agreements In Limbo, Former USTRs Say
Trade Promotion Authority is essential to securing passage of the Trans Pacific Partnership, and despite House Ways and Means staff efforts to craft a TPA bill, the Fast Track negotiating authority won’t be realized without Presidential leadership, a group of former U.S. Trade Representatives said May 20. While TPP negotiations are complex -- tackling special interests like dairy and sugar, as well as the potential inclusion of Japan -- the talks can be completed by the October deadline, the former officials said at a panel during the U.S. New Zealand Pacific Partnership Forum. Without Fast Track negotiating authority, however, that’s unlikely to happen, they said.
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“The truth is, if the President does not say ‘We’re going to have Fast Track as a component of this and its fundamentally important,’ people are going to find a way to game this thing,” said William Brock, who served as USTR from 1981-1985 under President Reagan.
“I’m not sure the administration believes [Fast Track] is as essential as some of us do,” said Carla Hills, USTR from 1989-1993 under President George H.W. Bush. Hills said the administration needs to make clear its priorities are passing the four big agreements on trade’s calendar: TPP, U.S.-EU and the World Trade Organization agreements on services and technology. If Congress can see the prospects of such agreements writ large, “they’ll give the President Trade Promotion Authority.”
Without it, the thorniest issues in the final agreement text will face much tougher political obstacles, Hills said. Fellow negotiating countries will also be less likely to discuss thorny issues in the first place. “Would you, if you were in Japan, really want to put rice on the table, if you didn’t know if Congress was going to vote it up or down?” she said.
Fellow panelists agreed, and said that’s why Fast Track should be secured now -- not leaving it until TPP negotiations are in the heated final stages. “I believe it’s easier to pursue Trade Promotion Authority if there are not a lot of negotiations on the table,” said Mickey Kantor, who served as USTR under President Clinton, from 1993-1996. Just because TPP negotiations are ongoing does not mean Fast Track efforts have to wait, he said. “You can walk and chew gum at the same time.”
Pressing ahead with TPP negotiations without Fast Track, however, could be problematic, said Susan Schwab, USTR from 2005-2009 under President George W. Bush. “One could argue, respectfully, the administration's a little bit over the tips of their skis on this one.” Without the security Fast Track provides, the administration could be getting ahead of themselves in TPP negotiations, Schwab said.
Brock said the two relevant Congressional committees -- House Ways and Means and Senate Finance -- understand and support Fast Track. Kantor added that Ways and Means staff just began crafting a TPA bill. Business groups are also advocating for TPA. The Business Roundtable rolled out a new group -- the Trade Benefits America Coalition -- May 20, and its mission includes a strong focus on securing updated TPA “as an important tool for pursuing pending and future negotiations to provide further opportunities for U.S. economic growth and job creation,” according to the group’s website (here). Fellow Coalition members include the Chamber of Commerce, National Foreign Trade Council, U.S. Council for International Business and the American Farm Bureau Federation.
USTR nominee Mike Froman could also be a boon to Fast Track. He has “a lot of clout on Capitol Hill, and [is] highly respected over there,” said Clayton Yeutter, USTR from 1985-1988, under President Reagan. His close relationship with President Obama -- Froman has served in the cabinet since 2009 -- will also make a positive difference for USTR, said Hills. Kantor agreed, calling Froman the “most experienced person ever appointed … he’s going to do a great job.” Hills’ advice to Froman was to “think big and move immediately to set trade Promotion Authority.” Schwab, meanwhile, urged him to look after the USTR professional staff, calling it a “travesty” that the agency is looking at furloughs. Acting USTR Demetrios Marantis warned of harmful budget cuts at USTR at a Senate hearing in March (see 13032003). -- Jessica Arriens