As Republicans and Democrats work to put in place bipartisan trade promotion authority, editorial boards from coast to coast are rallying behind the effort. Trade Promotion Authority—or TPA—empowers Congress to set the negotiating objectives when pursing trade agreements with other countries and helps the United States get the best deal possible. Here’s a sampling of what newspapers have had to say about TPA:
Wisconsin State Journal: ‘Congress needs to pass trade promotion authority’
– “Free-trade zones across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans would lower tariffs and smooth commerce for all while encouraging higher environmental and labor standards. Past trade agreements ‘haven’t always lived up to the hype,’ Obama acknowledged. But ‘95 percent of the world’s customers live outside our borders. We can’t close ourselves off from those opportunities.’ No, we can’t — especially in a top manufacturing and dairy state such as Wisconsin, where research and technology are strong.”
San Francisco Chronicle: ‘California will be a winner if Congress blesses a Pacific trade treaty’
– “Global trade is an enormous chunk of California’s present and future. It needs to be nurtured, improved and given rules and treaty agreements to protect this thriving financial lifeline.”
The Seattle Times: ‘Congress should enact trade-promotion authority’
– “Congress must not delay in approving TPA. [It] would have substantial and lasting effects on the state’s and nation’s economies.”
Washington Post: ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership can help the U.S. counter China’s expansion’
– “Both economically and geopolitically, the Trans-Pacific Partnership would perpetuate the United States’ stabilizing role in Asia; it is one of the Obama administration’s brightest ideas. All that’s left now is for both the president and Republican leaders in Congress to keep their promises and make it happen.”
Houston Chronicle: ‘Expansion of international trade agreements would mean a whole lot of good for the U.S.’
– “President Obama and the new Republican majorities in the House and Senate can demonstrate that they are capable of agreement on important issues that will result in good jobs and more exports for farmers and the manufacturing, service and tech sectors.”
Minneapolis Star Tribune: ‘More trade means more Minnesota jobs’
– “Rising exports mean more jobs. Minnesota has the natural and human resources to compete at the highest global level, meaning that state workers can benefit from expanded free trade.”
Chicago Tribune: ‘TPA is essential for overcoming the inevitable fight against vested interests’
– “TPA empowers Congress to establish negotiating objectives, and enhances its ability to set priorities. The U.S. is legally bound to a trade agreement only if Congress votes to approve it. TPA, which has been essential to reaching trade deals since the 1930s, has proven to be fully consistent with the Constitution and supportive of U.S. sovereignty.”
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