Trans-Pacific Partnership Talks Stir House Bipartisan Opposition

[KittyWampus]

Trans-Pacific Partnership Talks Stir House Bipartisan Opposition
Posted: 11/12/2013 8:00 pm EST | Updated: 11/14/2013 11:13 am EST


WASHINGTON -- Separate groups of House Republicans and Democrats on Tuesday condemned the Obama administration's proposed sweeping free trade agreement with 11 Pacific nations, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Strongly worded letters to President Barack Obama Tuesday were signed by hardline tea partiers, true-blue progressives, and moderate, corporate-friendly lawmakers in both parties, indicating political trouble for a trade deal the administration had hoped to seal by year end.

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The GOP letter includes signatures from tea party stalwarts like Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), along with moderate members whose tenure in Congress dates to the 1990s. A coalition of New Democrats and progressives -- who typically take opposite positions on free-trade deals -- pressed the same theme in a separate letter.

"Any new proposed Trade Promotion Authority must reflect the changing nature of international trade and ensure that Congress plays a more meaningful role in the negotiating process," reads a letter from 12 Democrats, including progressives like Reps. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), along with moderates Reps. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) and Jim Himes (D-Conn.).

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/12/trans-pacific-partnership-house_n_4263174.html

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Let's hear it for bipartisanship.

That's quite a coalition.

[cali]

2. there still aren't enough votes to defeat TPA

[KittyWampus]

3. Problems mount for White House in push for Trans-Pacific trade pact

(Reuters) - A White House push for a freer hand to clinch trade deals ran into a roadblock on Wednesday as two-thirds of Democrats in the House of Representatives stated their opposition, complicating efforts to finalize a pact with 11 Pacific Rim countries.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/14/us-usa-trade-idUSBRE9AC1AE20131114