Trade Backers Pin Pacific-Pact Hopes on Lame-Duck U.S. Congress

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Trade Backers Pin Pacific-Pact Hopes on Lame-Duck U.S. Congress

By Tatiana Darie - March 22, 2016 — 4:00 AM CDT

Election-year protectionism has trade supporters and some lawmakers eyeing the lame-duck session of Congress late this year as the last chance for the U.S. to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership before a new administration waters down or scuttles a deal.

Opposition to trade has emerged as a rare area of bipartisan agreement in the 2016 election campaign, with leading candidates opposing or criticizing a pact that would boost trade among nations making up 40 percent of the global economy. A tough battle for congressional seats in states where economic concerns loom large makes supporting deals such as TPP a political liability.

In such a hostile environment, where anti-trade rhetoric resonates among voters in key manufacturing regions, congressional leaders point to the legislative session just after the Nov. 8 election as the earliest a deal could be considered.

"I think we’ll probably get it through, but it’s shaky," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, said in an interview. "It will probably have to be after the elections. I think we have a better chance to passing it after, but we’ll see” ...


Read more:
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-03-22/trade-backers-pin-pacific-pact-hopes-on-lame-duck-u-s-congress

[antigop]

1. and the hits just keep coming. nt