House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told Democrats Wednesday that she will vote in favor of a trade adjustment assistance bill, a move that will likely help President Obama’s “Fast Track” trade bill become law.
But she suggested Democrats may be gearing up for a fight over an upcoming trade deal with Asian nations.
Pelosi’s decision to back TAA signifies an all-but-certain victory for President Obama and a faction of Democrats and Republicans pushing for “Fast Track,” also known as trade promotion authority, or TPA. That bill would give President Obama expedited powers to secure new trade deals, including a pending pact with 11 Pacific Rim nations known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP.
Obama said he wanted TAA to pass along with the “Fast Track” legislation so that he can sign them both into law.
Democrats had been resisting support for TAA in an effort to sink “Fast Track,” but Pelosi’s support suggests Democrats are ready to back down on their opposition.
“While we may not all vote in the same manner on TAA, I will support its passage because it can open the door to a full debate on TPP,” Pelosi said in a letter to the House Democratic Caucus.
Democrats for weeks have been working to defeat the trade package and nearly did so earlier this month when they sunk the legislation on its first attempt through the House. But Republicans worked with President Obama and a small faction of pro-trade Democrats to split up the legislation in a way that would make it harder for Democrats to defeat it.
Congress has now cleared a standalone “Fast Track” bill for the president’s signature. He is awaiting TAA, a Democratically supported program that expires soon.
Democrats believe new trade deals could hurt the economy by creating an unfair trade advantage thanks to lack of enforcement of trade rules and currency manipulation by Asian nations. Unions strongly oppose the “Fast Track” bill and have been heavily lobbying Democrats to block it.
The House is expected to vote on the TAA bill Thursday, but at some point Congress will have to approve or disapprove the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
It’s another opportunity for Democrats to try to block new trade deals, and Pelosi suggested she won’t back down in the TPP fight.
“I hope that the debate will be transparent and respectful of the role of Congress as defined in the Constitution: ‘The Congress shall have power to … regulate commerce with foreign nations,’ ” Pelosi wrote to Democrats.
