Senate Republicans Tuesday accused Democrats of reneging on deal that would give President Obama “fast track” authority to approve trade pacts.
Senate Finance panel Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Democrats broke an agreement struck in committee that Trade Promotion Authority legislation would move separately from two provisions dealing with trade enforcement and preferences.
“This demand materialized last week and came from the Senate Democratic leadership, virtually all of whom oppose TPA and their president outright,” Hatch said, moments after Democrats voted to block the trade bill.
Democrats said Tuesday they opposed the bill because they wanted the legislation to include the two additional provisions. One would add language to curb trade violations, such as currency manipulation. A second provision, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), would extend a law allowing duty-free imports from sub-Saharan nations in Africa.
But Hatch said the last-minute demands are counter to the agreement struck in committee with Democrats.
Hatch said the No. 3 Democratic leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., agreed in committee that adding the currency manipulation provision would make it impossible to pass the legislation.
The TPA bill cleared the Finance Committee by a vote of 20-6 with the support of seven Democrats.
The panel also agreed to the trade enforcement and AGOA provisions, but as separate legislation, not as amendments to the TPA bill.
Hatch said he gave Schumer, “only a commitment that we would do our best to get all four enacted into law,” rather than attach them to the TPA legislation.
“It was completely understood that the two bills would be voted on separately,” Hatch said. “I even agreed we would have hearings later, that he could bring up a bill and we could have a markup.”
Hatch said he was “flabbergasted” to learn this week that Democrats were now demanding Republicans include the trade enforcement and preference provisions in the TPA bill.
“That never was the agreement,” Hatch said. “And everybody understood that.”
Sen. Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., denied Democrats reversed themselves.
“We’ve been very clear for a long time that the bills that came out of the Senate Finance Committee by a big, big margin should be put together and put on the Senate floor,” Reid said Tuesday. “We’ve been saying this for a long, long time.”
