Obama pledged that the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the largest free-trade accord in a generation, would open new markets abroad for U.S. goods and services and establish rules that give "our workers the fair shot at success they deserve."
But in a sign of the tough fight ahead to win final ratification from Congress next year, lawmakers from both parties lambasted the pact as falling short, raising the prospect that the White House could lose support from allies who had backed the president's trade push earlier this year.
"Closing a deal is an achievement for our nation only if it works for the American people and can pass Congress by meeting the high-standard objectives laid out" by lawmakers in the spring, said Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. "While the details are still emerging, unfortunately, I am afraid this deal appears to fall woefully short."
The announcement here that consensus had been reached after five days of intense negotiations between trade ministers started the clock on the final process of winning approval from national legislatures. The United States, where the 2016 presidential campaign is underway, is not the only nation with a turbulent political climate. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who backed the deal, is facing a tough reelection vote this month, and the opposition party has said it would not be bound by the terms of the deal. Leaders of Australia, New Zealand and several other countries made tough compromises that face stiff opposition at home.
On the U.S. campaign trail, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, slammed the deal, saying, "Wall Street and other big corporations have won again." Republican front-runner Donald Trump has consistently criticized big trade deals, and Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton has hedged on the TPP deal, despite having supported it while serving as Obama's secretary of state.
"I'll leave the presidential politics to someone else," U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said during a news conference in Atlanta. "Our job is to reach agreement and explain it fully to the American public. Given where we are in the calendar, this really is a 2016 issue for Congress to consider."
Obama must wait at least 90 days after notifying Congress of the deal until he can sign it and send it to Capitol Hill, and the full text of the agreement must be made public for at least 60 of those days. Under the terms of "fast-track" trade legislation approved by Congress in the spring, lawmakers will not be able to amend or filibuster the TPP pact.
Capitol Hill staffers said votes in the House and the Senate are unlikely before mid-April at the earliest. A reshuffling in the House Republican leadership after the announced resignation of Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) could introduce additional uncertainty. While the GOP has been more supportive of Obama's trade agenda, some conservatives have opposed a pact negotiated by a Democratic White House.
Opponents in Obama's own party have vowed to turn the trade deal into a political issue in an attempt to block it.
"Froman say this is a 2016 issue. That's perfect timing because a presidential election year is the best opportunity to shine a light on all the bad trade provisions in this deal," said Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn.), a fierce critic of the deal. The administration "is supposed to be fighting for the American public, not high-priced lobbyists, but, unfortunately, this administration's approach has been the exact opposite."
The TPP, which has been negotiated for eight years, is sprawling, multiple-chapter pact that addresses tariff reductions for agriculture and automobiles, as well as intellectual-property rights for pharmaceutical drugs and movies, the free flow of information on the Internet, wildlife conservation, online commerce and dispute settlements for multinational corporations.
Negotiators meeting here were under mounting pressure to close the gaps on several remaining issues. Efforts to reach final consensus during the last negotiating round, in Maui in July, broke off in the face of deadlocks over dairy tariffs, rules governing where automobiles are manufactured and market protections for next-generation biologic drugs.
U.S. officials described marathon talks in Atlanta that stretched deep into the night. Plans to publicly announce a delay were postponed several days as they hashed out technical details, and the language of the text was still being tweaked at 5 a.m. Monday, just hours before the news conference.
But Congress members warned in the final days that the pressure to close the deal could lead to bad compromises from the U.S. team. Hatch is reportedly upset over the terms that govern how long pharmaceutical companies will maintain market exclusivity on genetically engineered drugs. U.S. law allows 12 years of patent-style protections, but the final agreement was reportedly closer to the five years allowed under Australian law.
"The United States should not settle for a mediocre deal that fails to set high-standard trade rules," Hatch said.
Other lawmakers hailed separate portions of the agreement, including new labor standards to protect workers and a last-minute provision that would not allow cigarette companies access to a new international dispute settlement panel. Critics of such panels, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), have charged that the TPP will allow large corporations to sue TPP member nations for lost profits if they change their public health laws or other regulations.
"It's now time for Congress and the public to examine the details of the TPP and assess whether it will advance the nation's interests," said Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.), a key Democratic supporter of Obama's trade push.
Officials in Atlanta emphasized that the agreement will pay long-term dividends, deepening multilateral relations in a way that develops common interests and reduces volatility in global markets. The TPP represents the largest U.S. trade pact since the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico in 1993.
Presidential aides have called the deal an important element in Obama's foreign-policy strategy to maintain an economic edge on China, which has been expanding its influence in Asia. The TPP has been crafted in a way that would allow other nations to join if they pledge to meet the standards. South Korea has expressed interest.
"Long after details of things like tons of butter sold are regarded as a footnote in history, the bigger picture of what we achieved today will be what remains," New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser said. "Our industry structures will change in response to the opportunities in this agreement. In future years, we will be absolutely certain of the depth of achievement we reached at this point in our collective history."
Share
