Now that the Senate has voted to proceed to the “fast track” trade bill, proponents are working to navigate a way around several amendments that could end up killing the legislation, which would prevent President Obama from negotiating what he hopes will become a signature trade agreement.
Nine amendments could receive Senate floor consideration this week, including some that could serve as “poison pills” that make it difficult, if not impossible, for the legislation to become law because of opposition in the House and White House.
Chief among them is a measure sponsored by Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., that would hold accountable any trade pact country that is deemed to be manipulating its currency.
Another, sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., would prevent Congress from expediting any trade deal that allows investor-state dispute settlements, which she says are abused by large corporations. Those dispute mechanisms let companies argue that certain laws violate a trade agreement.
“Giving corporations special rights to challenge our laws outside our legal system is a terrible idea,” Warren said when she introduced the amendment.
A third amendment, from Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, would prevent other countries from entering finalized trade deals without congressional approval. Brown said he wants to prevent China, a notorious currency manipulator, from becoming a back-door trading partner.
The Portman-Stabenow provision on currency is the biggest threat to final passage of the trade bill.
It is supported by senators from the nation’s many manufacturing states. Lawmakers who back the amendment say countries that undervalue their currency put American imports at a significant disadvantage.
Proponents of the amendment say the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact with Japan and 10 other Pacific Rim nations have elevated the need for currency enforcement. Japan is accused of undervaluing the yen, making it harder for U.S. auto manufacturers to export cars there.
“Our auto companies are just getting rolled over,” an aide to a Senate proponent told the Washington Examiner.
Ford Motor Company and other U.S. auto manufacturers back the amendment.
Portman’s name on the amendment is particularly significant. He served as the U.S. Trade Representative under President George W. Bush and is generally allied with Senate Republican leaders.
Ohio’s economy relies on manufacturing and Portman is up for re-election in 2016.
“We need a balanced approach on trade,” Portman said. “Fighting for good jobs through more exports and fighting against unfair trade practices.”
But the amendment could lead to the death of the trade legislation. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has recommended that Obama veto the bill if the Portman-Stabenow amendment passes.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is encouraging lawmakers to vote against it, and said he wants the Senate to pass a bill that can be signed into law.
“We’d like to send a bill to the House that’s in a form they can take up and deal with,” he said. “And so, we’ll be working hard to keep any amendments off the bill that would defeat the bill, tank the bill, at some place in the process.”
