M Live - Michigan Democrats Oppose 'Fast Track' Trade Authority for President Obama
News Article
By Fritz Klug
Several Michigan Democrats oppose a "fast track" bill for Pacific trade negotiations that they say would hurt Michigan companies and workers.
The bill, announced Thursday, would give President Barack Obama the "fast track" authority to negotiate a trade agreement. It would allow lawmakers to vote on the final agreement, but not provide any amendments or filibuster. Also, the legislation would open up the trade agreement to the public for 60 days before Obama would approve it.
The bill was introduced by U.S. Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and U.S. Rep Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin.
The TPP has been in the works for several years and would include the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
Obama supports creating a trade deal. The White House has said that in 2014 the U.S. exported $727 billion in goods to TPP markets. That makes up 45 percent of all U.S. exports.
"My top priority in any trade negotiation is expanding opportunity for hardworking Americans," Obama said in a statement on Thursday. "It's no secret that past trade deals haven't always lived up to their promise, and that's why I will only sign my name to an agreement that helps ordinary Americans get ahead."
However, Michigan Democrats said the fast-tracked legislation and overall trade agreement could hurt Michigan companies unless there are protections against currency manipulation.
"The trade bill introduced today is simply not something I can or will support as it squarely puts the working men and women I represent at a significant disadvantage and does not give them the protections they deserve," U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, said in a statement on Thursday. "Currency manipulation is the mother of all trade barriers and this agreement will just mean lost jobs and lost wages for American workers."
Currency manipulation refers to when a country uses its own currency and buys up foreign reserves like the U.S. dollar, weakening its own currency, according to a 2014 MLive story. A weak currency lowers the price of a country's exports, making them more attractive to international buyers by undercutting competitors.
U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township said the legislation "fails" in three ways: "it was negotiated entirely in secret and lacks transparency, it fails to include strong and enforceable currency provisions, and it asks Congress to rubber stamp an unfair deal that would lower wages for workers and ship American jobs overseas."
The bill has also been opposed by the UAW.
The New York Times noted that "many prominent Democrats have come out against one of the biggest priorities of their president" and that U.S. Rep. and House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak, was absent from the negotiations.
The TPA agreement "does not move us toward a stronger TPP agreement that will garner broad, bipartisan support in Congress," Levin said in a statement.
However, House Republicans and some Senate Democrats support the proposal.
"The bill makes sure that Congress will set the priorities in our trade agreements, and it includes unprecedented accountability, transparency, and enforceability measures," U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, said in a statement. "TPA will help us get the best deals for the American economy and American workers."
Democratic U.S. Sen Ron Wyden, Washington, one of the bill's co-authors, said in a statement that "opening foreign markets, where most of the world's consumers reside, is critical to creating new opportunities for middle-class American jobs."
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