Blog: Ensuring Oversight and Transparency in our Trade Negotiations

Statement

In South Carolina, we have seen the benefits of U.S. international trade firsthand. American trade with the world supports more than half a million jobs in our state, from family farms and small businesses to global giants like Boeing and BMW. The Port of Charleston is one of the busiest in the nation and is still growing, and our manufacturing industry across the state continues to create new jobs and career opportunities for families across the state. Just this month, Volvo announced they are building a new plant in Berkeley County that will bring 4,000 jobs to South Carolina, and will rely on our state's Port and our nation's trade agreements to import supplies and export vehicles.

Over the past 40 years, every trade deal has been negotiated with some form of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), which most recently expired during the second term of President George W. Bush. As the Senate debates a new TPA this Spring, I have received questions from constituents across South Carolina as to what exactly TPA is and why it is necessary. Many of these have centered on presidential authority and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a potential trade agreement with 11 countries.

Currently, without Trade Promotion Authority, the U.S. Trade Representative, appointed by the President, can negotiate without any Congressional oversight, and does not have to share many significant details of that process with anyone outside of the administration. Trade agreements negotiated without TPA do not keep the administration transparent and accountable to the public and their representatives in Congress.

While TPA has been granted in the past to help keep Congress informed of trade negotiations, this new TPA bill goes much farther in mandating and ensuring that Congress is in charge of negotiating objectives. The new bill actually reins in presidential authority, increases the transparency of any trade agreements negotiated under it, and makes sure that Congress and the public are included every step of the way.

The TPA bill requires this and future administrations to pursue negotiating objectives that Congress establishes, consult with and report to Congress on how negotiations are going, and provide an unprecedented level of transparency so the American public has a significant amount of time to read and review any potential agreements negotiated under the TPA. Most importantly, this new and modernized version of TPA in no way cedes U.S. sovereignty and empowers Congress and our constituents, not the President or the Executive Branch. If Congress doesn't think the trade deal meets our objectives or that the Administration violated to the terms of the TPA, Congress will have the last word.

As to the questions regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Trade Promotion Authority does not approve the TPP in any way, shape or form. The TPP is still being negotiated, and I am monitoring its progress to ensure that it's in the best interest of South Carolina businesses and families. TPA, if passed into law, will give us a clearer understanding of exactly how our trade representatives are handling the negotiations. If a final deal is reached, then the American people will have more time than ever before to review the proposal and provide input to their Congressional representatives. Then Congress would still have to pass the agreement. I have expressed my concerns regarding the TPP in multiple committee hearings this year, and would not vote for any final agreement that I feel encroaches on U.S. sovereignty or is a bad deal for American interests and South Carolina's economy.

Since 2003, South Carolina's exports to countries with whom the United States has trade agreements have grown by 94 percent. Nationally, we have a trade surplus with the countries we have already entered into a trade agreement with, while we continue to have a deficit with those we do not. The potential benefits are very clear for both our state and our nation as a whole, and Trade Promotion Authority will provide for a more transparent process while reining in overreach by the Executive Branch. I will closely scrutinize any trade deals that come before Congress, such as the TPP, and if they do not past muster, I will vote against them, plain and simple.

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