Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is demanding that President Obama declassify the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal 60 days before Congress votes to give Obama the authority to negotiate the rest of it without any meddling from Congress.
Warren has emerged as a leading Democratic voice against Obama’s major trade agenda item, and she said Congress needs to see what’s been negotiated before giving Obama the green light to finish the deal.
So far, the Obama administration has kept the details of the TPP classified, a decision that has Democrats fuming with just weeks to go before the deal is scheduled to be finalized. But Warren’s new bill, the Trade Transparency Act, would require its full release to the public.
“The Trade Transparency Act would ensure that the public, experts, and the press can engage in meaningful debate over the terms of trade deals before Congress reduces its ability to shape, amend, or block those deals,” Warren said. “Before Congress ties its hands on trade deals, the American people should be allowed to see for themselves whether these agreements are good for them.”
“While negotiations over the TPP are nearly complete, the agreement remains classified, and there are no plans to make any of it public before Congress approves ‘Fast Track,’ which would make it impossible for legislators to amend, and more difficult for legislators to block, final approval of the TPP,” Warren’s office said.
Under her bill, which is also sponsored by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Obama would have to hand over the “scrubbed bracketed text” of the TPP before Congress gives Obama trade promotion authority, or TPA.
TPA, or “Fast Track” authority, is generally seen as necessary to completing agreements, since countries would be reluctant to negotiate any agreement that could be picked apart in Congress.
Obama is hoping to use TPA to finish negotiating the TPP, a goal that is widely seen as a way for Obama to burnish his legacy. After Republicans took the Senate in the November election, many saw trade as one of the few issues both parties could work on together.
But Obama’s push is forcing many Democrats in Congress to openly oppose both TPA and the TPP. Last week, 33 Democrats voted against a procedural motion to give Obama TPA, and several Senate Democratic leaders were among those “no” votes.
That majority showing of Democrats against Obama’s trade initiative came even after a deal was brokered to allow the Senate to vote on trade items that Democrats generally supporting, including a controversial bill giving the U.S. the power to retaliate against countries that manipulate their currency.
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., set up a vote that will test Democrats yet again. The Senate will vote to end debate on the TPA bill, and could pass it by Friday.
