TPA and the Democratic disunity — Obama’s trade bill, jobs and income inequality in America

Well, they say the TPP deal is now “practically wrapped up.” The House and Senate Leadership have now tabled the bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill that must now slouch through the Congress. It will be the first real trade debate in thirteen years, and the world has changed – but the politics on the Hill have not. Actually, few congressional debates are as predictable as the one on international trade. The bill is set for a smooth sailing through the House, while the real fracas is in the Senate and the split within President Obama’s own party. Senator Ron Wyden (D) reportedly came under immense pressure from the unions and environmentalists to walk out of the deal. As the old saying goes about the one-eyed who is king, the outgoing Minority Leader Harry Reid will “not even consider the bill” until there are guarantees it will benefit the middle class. The TPA bill comes equipped with a 60-day public review period of the trade agreements; it also includes trade adjustment assistance (TAA) – a rarely used benefit package for workers displaced by global trade invented in the Clinton era. The split in the Democrat leadership may seem a little...

Written by Hosuk Lee-Makiyama