A think tank connected to former President Bill Clinton pushed for approval of Trade Promotion Authority a day before the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on it. The Progressive Policy Institute, which says it served as “Bill Clinton’s idea mill” in the 1990s, released a statement advocating for Trade Promotion Authority, calling the House vote a “moment of truth” for progressives.
“Opening overseas markets to U.S. exports is integral to putting America back on a high-growth trajectory,” Ed Gerwin, senior fellow for trade and global opportunity at the Progressive Policy Institute, said. “PPI therefore urges pro-growth progressives to support President Obama’s major trade initiatives. … New U.S. trade agreements can make vital progress on issues that are important to Democrats and progressives. They can, for example, tap a growing global middle class to fuel more inclusive American economic growth, strengthen and expand the reach of rules on labor rights and environment protection, and ‘democratize’ trade by empowering entrepreneurs, small businesses, and consumers to more directly participate in and benefit from global commerce.”
The statement proceeded to blast anti-free trade Democrats. “PPI applauds those House Democrats who have stood up forthrightly for liberal trade and TPA. As the House takes up TPA tomorrow, we hope others also will reject the spurious arguments and bullying of anti-trade activists who yearn for the industrial landscape of the 1970s and imagine that Americans can prosper in isolation from the rest of the world.”
Despite her husband’s connection to the Progressive Policy Institute, Hillary Clinton has been notably absent from the debate over free trade agreements. As secretary of state, she spoke favorably on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but in May she said she’d wait to see the final agreement before taking a position.
The Progressive Policy Institute is full of solid liberals. Gerwin was a full-time volunteer for the Obama campaign in 2008. Its founder, Will Marshall, co-edited the book that served as a policy blueprint for President Clinton’s first term. The group’s executive director, Lindsay Mark Lewis, previously worked for the 21st Century Democrats, the Democratic National Committee and several Democratic members of Congress, including Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.
Passage of Trade Promotion Authority would give President Obama a fast track to negotiate the details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and then put the free trade agreement up for a vote in Congress without amendments.
