Any traction for a Trade Promotion Authority bill in the Senate has been slowed by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid who says Democrats are prepared to block the measure.
Reid says the Senate must first deal with an infrastructure bill and a series of reforms to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or there’s no bringing up TPA.
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack told farm broadcasters last week, it’s important for Congress to understand the need for this authority for the president.
Adding it’s critically important to completing current trade negotiations, “These negotiations I think are critically important to the future of production agriculture in this country because we continue to produce more than we need and there has to be an outlet for that, otherwise prices will significantly come down. And, export is that outlet.”
He says a Yes vote recognizes the reality in Asia, “And the question I’ve been asking our friends in Congress is, ‘Look, if you’re interested and concerned about labor rights and you’re interested and concerned about environmental protections, who would you rather have leading the effort to write the rules on labor and environment? The United States of America or China?”
Without TPA, Vilsack says it will be difficult to get any trade agreements passed and countries will have agreements excluding the United States.
Source: www.brownfieldagnews.com