Democrats Say IPEF Includes Wrong Countries, Needs Congressional Vote
Forty-four House members, led by prominent trade skeptic Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., told the administration that they do not support the inclusion of eight of the 13 countries in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework negotiations, and that Congress and outside stakeholders should have "the opportunity to weigh in at the outset on proposals for specific negotiation objectives and, as negotiations continue, on draft text."
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The Sept. 6 letter, also signed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also complains that the administration "plans to negotiate a binding agreement while circumventing congressional input, authority, and approval." They say there should be a vote in Congress.
"Countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand are not suited at this time to meet the objectives or standards that must be at the heart of any pact that will qualify as promoting the worker-centered trade agenda that we join President Biden in supporting," the Congress members said.
The letter, which was signed by the leader of the Progressive Caucus as well as some Rust Belt Democrats in tight races, said the labor standards, "at the very least, should include: compliance with the [International Labor Organization]’s eight Core Conventions to protect basic labor rights; a ban on the importation of goods made with forced or child labor; an affirmative obligation to investigate and prosecute cases of threats or violence against workers and unions for exercising their labor rights; and a dispute resolution and enforcement mechanism modeled on the USMCA’s rapid response mechanism."