General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: There's a simple way Obama could bring everyone on board to support the TPP. [View all]Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)Once the TPP is published, Congress will have a better idea of whether the arbitrary deadlines imposed by the TPA (a/k/a fast track) will provide enough time for proper consideration. There's no need for Congress to vote on TPA now.
Some proponents have argued that the other countries in the negotiations want assurance that the United States is serious, by which the proponents mean immediate passage of TPA. That doesn't make sense to me. Countries that have been negotiating this since 2010 will petulantly pick up their marbles and go home if there's a possibility that approval will take more than three months? That would be silly. If the other countries took that stance then they would know for sure that there would NOT be a deal. It's much more sensible for them to conclude the negotiations and hope that Congress approves the final product, with or without fast track.