Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, will put forward a bill requiring the lead trade official in the United States government to negotiate a trade agreement with the United Kingdom, which voted Thursday night to exit the European Union.
“I plan to introduce legislation both requiring the United States to honor our current agreements with the United Kingdom until new bilateral agreements can be negotiated, and directing the U.S. Trade Representative to begin negotiations on new bilateral agreements as soon as possible,” he said.
President Obama already has the legislative authority to negotiate a trade agreement with the United Kingdom, courtesy of the trade promotion authority legislation that Congress passed in 2015. That bill, which was designed to “fast-track” a deal with 11 Pacific Rim countries, was shepherded through Congress by Senate Finance Committee chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and then-House Ways and Means Committee chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
TPA was very controversial in both parties, as conservative skeptics of Obama and union opponents of free trade united against the deal. Lee himself opposed the fast-track bill on a procedural vote.
But the legislation passed and renewed fast-track authority for six years, meaning that the next president can negotiate an agreement with the UK without as much risk that domestic politics undermine the talks. TPA lets the government negotiate trade agreements that can only be accepted or rejected by Congress, but not amended.
“TPA is for any and all trade agreements, not just TPP, that an administration would want to be submitted to Congress for an up or down vote without amendments,” a Senate Finance Committee aide told the Washington Examiner.
The U.S. conversation about Britain’s exit from the EU has centered on how the “special relationship” between the two countries would continue. President Obama and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman implied that the U.S. would not prioritize a negotiation with the UK, in an apparent attempt to dissuade British voters from backing the “Leave” campaign.
Their efforts were unconvincing for a majority of voters, as the referendum to leave the European Union passed with 52 percent of the vote. Lee wants to stabilize the existing ties with the UK in the event the country does leave the EU and is left with a less favorable trading relationship with the U.S.
“The decision by the British people to leave the EU is a rejection of centralized power and unaccountable bureaucracy, a sentiment widely shared by many Americans,” Lee said. “Our relationship with the United Kingdom has been one of the most successful in the history of the world and now more than ever we must respect the will of their people.”
