Senior officials with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said yesterday in a briefing with reporters that one of the organization’s top priority for 2013 is securing renewal of trade promotion authority (TPA) to ensure that the president has the authority to close new trade agreements under fast-track congressional approval under which trade agreements cannot be amended and must be voted on under strict time constraints.
Myron Brilliant, senior vice president for international affairs for the U.S. Chamber, discussed the group’s “International Trade and Investment Priorities for the Second Obama Administration,” and pointed out that TPA is the first item on which the chamber believes the administration should focus. The organization will back multi-year renewal of TPA with broad scope in conjunction with its support for:
- the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations now entering the 18th round;
- the plurilateral talks on an international services agreement scheduled to begin in May; and
- the possible decision by the United States and European Union to launch negotiations toward a comprehensive agreement on trade, investment, and regulatory cooperation.
Even though the president has not sough fast-track authority yet, he should want to, Brilliant said, stressing that the administration needs to engage in congressional consultations. “We shouldn’t wait until TPP is now done or another year or two as the trade agenda moves forward,” Brilliant told reporters. “It’s better to get it done and set the expectations on that as soon as possible–at least begin those consultations.”
