Inside D.C.

TPA is not TPP

In Washington, DC, with just the addition of a verb and an object, you can easily construct a sentence that is 90% acronyms.  One of the great unsung talents on Capitol Hill is the ability give title to a new piece of legislation so that its name easily converts to an acronym that trips off the tongue while communicating the meaning of the legislation.  Think DREAM Act, or literally, the Development, Relief & Education for Alien Minors Act.

So, if you’re confused about the meaning of TPA, TPP, TAA and TTIP, take heart, so is everyone else outside the DC Beltway, and apparently, based on this week’s House floor debate, so are many House members and members of the media.

What is trade promotion authority, acronymically known as TPA?  If you listen to conservative radio talk show hosts, it’s a secret handshake RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) have with President Obama to ensure a Democrat is president for the lifetime of the republic.  If you listen to Democrat House members who don’t like trade or Republicans who distrust Obama and won’t give him any new authority over anything, TPA is the first step on the road to perdition, the precursor to Armageddon, a congressional action to throw millions of “middle class” Americans into the streets to starve.

TPA is simply the game plan or rules of the road for U.S. trade treaty negotiating.  Congress first enacted TPA in 1974 to set consensus U.S. negotiating goals and priorities for trade agreements, as in environmental protections, human rights, labor and so on.  It sets up consultation/notification requirements with Congress and the private sector for the President to follow during the negotiation process.  Once a final treaty is in hand, TPA sets the rules for congressional review and approval, with Congress giving the agreement an up or down vote, without amendment.  Congress writes this rule book.

What TPA is not is TPP.  TPP is the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an as-yet unfinished trade treaty among 12 Pacific Rim countries, including the U.S.  Its goal is to remove or significantly lower protective import tariffs, the end result being free-as-possible trade among the dozen nations.  It’s close to complete – the Australian trade minister said this week the pact will be a “final draft” within a week – but it may not be finalized because TPA is not in place in the U.S.  Why is TPA important?  Because nations with which the U.S. has cut TPP deals – think Japan and Canada – don’t trust that without TPA Congress won’t muck up the final deal during its review of the treaty.

Think of it this way:  TPA is the rulebook for all games played; TPP is just one game in the season.

The full text of TPA is online – anyone can read the bill any time by going to www.thomas.loc.gov.  The draft text of TPP isn’t publicly available because the treaty isn’t finished yet.  Members of Congress can read what’s been tentatively agreed to so far, and under the rules of TPA, the whole world will be able to read the complete final draft TPP treaty for 60 days before Congress votes.  If the deal is as bad as some allege, Congress can/should reject the treaty outright.  However, allegations that pro-trade Republicans and Democrats and the White House are in cahoots to “hide” the treaty from the rest of Congress and the American public are a crock.

And just so we’re clear on all the acronyms, TAA is the Trade Adjustment Act.  TAA is a package of federal programs to provide retraining and other aid to U.S. workers and companies negatively impacted by trade treaties our government signs.  This go-around, TAA has been expanded to cover more classes of workers.  Some want more money for TAA, but that’s a wrangle for appropriators and budgeteers.  TTIP is the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership, ongoing “free trade” negotiations between the U.S. and the European Union (EU), an effort that will likely be completed about the same time your grandchildren enter college.

There’s another applicable acronym when it comes to the political ping pong Congress is playing over TPA, TPP and TAA, and that is SNAFU.  We won’t get into a literal translation; I think we all pretty much know what that means.

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