Congress Looks To Give President Trade Authority

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives and the Senate spent time this year drafting legislation that would give President Barack Obama the authority to negotiate trade agreements. Congress could then approve or reject, but not amend, the agreements.

The White House has been pressing Congress for fast-track authority—formally known as trade promotion authority—as it attempts to wrap up negotiations on a Pacific Rim trade agreement with 11 countries, possibly by early next year.

The U.S. and the 28-nation European Union, which already have the world’s largest bilateral economic relationship, have begun talks on a separate trade deal.

Trade promotion authority, which expired in 2007, “ensures that completed agreements will be subject to an up-or-down vote in Congress,” says a spokesman for the American Chemistry Council, a trade group representing 140 U.S.-based chemical companies. Without the fast-track procedure, he says, trading partners are “unlikely to put their best offers on the table” if a negotiated agreement can be picked apart by Congress.