The Transpacific Partnership or TPP is a trade agreement that has stirred up considerable controversy. It has been described as a “free trade agreement” - in the tradition of NAFTA and CAFTA and everything “AFTA”. It also is referred to as “Obamatrade”. It would involve twelve nations: the US, Japan, Australia, Peru, Malaysia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Chile, Singapore, Canada, Mexico and Brunei Darussalam. Conspicuously absent from the agreement are China (Asia’s most populous nation) and Russia (the largest nation in Asia by land mass).

The website of the “Office of the United States Trade Representative - Executive Office of the President” (www.ustr.gov/tpp), says the agreement is about “unlocking opportunity for Americans through trade with the Asia Pacific”. It goes on to say, “As the cornerstone of the Obama Administration’s economic policy in the Asia Pacific, the Trans-Pacific Partnership reflects the United States’ economic priorities and values. The TPP not only seeks to provide new and meaningful market access for American goods and services exports, but also set high-standard rules for trade, and address vital 21st-century issues within the global economy”. 

Not everyone sees the TPP as a good thing. According to the Huffington Post, Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, believes that the TPP will undermine American sovereignty. There are conservatives that feel the same way. In my humble opinion, American sovereignty should be a bi-partisan concern. Further, Merkley believes that “the TPP wasn’t any different than other free trade agreements” and that “we are repeating the same basic structure of the other agreements with no changes for America and therefore no improvement for the workers of the United States of America.”

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, an organization whose stated purpose is “defending your rights in the digital world” describes the TPP as “a secretive, multinational trade agreement that threatens to extend restrictive intellectual property (IP) laws across the globe and rewrite international rules on its enforcement.” It adds that its two fundamental objections are: “(1) [The] Intellectual Property Chapter: Leaked draft texts of the agreement show that the IP chapter would have extensive negative ramifications for users’ freedom of speech, right to privacy and due process, and hinder peoples’ abilities to innovate and (2) [Its] Lack of Transparency: The entire process has shut out multi-stakeholder participation and is shrouded in secrecy”.

Treaties, by their nature are dangerous to a certain extent, because entering into a treaty is one of the few ways that the Constitution can circumvented. The president is authorized by the constitution to negotiate treaties, however, approval of any treaty rests with the Senate - and it must be ratified by a two thirds super-majority. However, according to an article in The Hill, a conservative counterpart to the Huffington Post, these treaties are in fact far more about “politics” than economics or trade: “They are big steps away from the Constitution, national sovereignty and independence. All the trade talk, all the blather about jobs and the confusing stream of questionable statistics are designed to cover the real thrust of these treaties: the expansion of international and globalist interests”.

The TPP raises the ante because legislation has been introduced to “fast track” it. According to the DC Caller, “Trade Promotion Authority or TPA, also known as ‘fast-track’, has created a wedge between Obama and the rest of his own party. If passed, the president could submit a finalized trade deal to Congress, like TPP, which could not be amended or filibustered and would only need a straight up or down vote to pass”. In other words, it circumvents constitutional safeguards giving the President unprecedented authority.

Last month, Republicans Sen. Orrin Hatch and Rep. Paul Ryan, along with Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, introduced a bill that would grant the president such authority.  It has passed the Senate but has yet to be voted on by the House. According to a headline in Breitbart News, “Only Two Republicans Admit They Actually Read Secretive Obama Trade Deal - Both Unsupportive”. (Mike Lee of Utah and Jeff Sessions of Alabama).

Regarding the secrecy surrounding the TPP, according to Politico’s Edward-Isaac Dovere, “If you want to hear the details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal the Obama administration is hoping to pass, you’ve got to be a member of Congress, and you’ve got to go to classified briefings and leave your staff and cellphone at the door. If you’re a member who wants to read the text, you’ve got to go to a room in the basement of the Capitol Visitor Center and be handed it one section at a time, watched over as you read, and forced to hand over any notes you make before leaving. And no matter what, you can’t discuss the details of what you’ve read.” So much for transparency.

According to the Breitbart News article, “With the first votes on the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) that would fast-track TPP just days away, it’s looking like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) expects Americans to accept former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Obamacare logic for the trade deal: you have to pass it to find out what’s in it”. According to another headline, this one from Natural News, “Republicans go full Pelosi in shameless push to pass ultra-secret TPP trade deal so we can all find out what’s in it”.

If that doesn’t give you cause for concern, one of President Obama’s staunchest allies with regard to the TPP is none other than Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. According to the Daily Caller, “Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions has read the TPP text and expressed concern about a ‘living agreement’ provision that suggests the president could unilaterally change the deal after it’s been approved by Congress. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not allow a vote on an amendment from Sessions to strike that provision”.

The Fast Track legislation has cleared one hurdle as the Senate voted for cloture on the bill allowing it to come up for a floor vote. Interestingly, according to The Hill, “Before the vote, President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) got help from an outside source: Boeing CEO Jim McNerney, who met Thursday morning with Democratic leaders and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), a crucial swing vote”. Further the article says, “Boeing, which employs more than 80,000 people in Washington state, is also a big supporter of the Export-Import Bank, under attack from conservative Republicans”.

I’m glad that there is a distinction being made here between conservative Republicans and the Republicans that are, well, not conservative. It is disappointing to see Senators such as McConnell, Ryan and Ted Cruz supporting giving the President such power - this president or any future president. It is simply mind boggling that they could vote to abrogate their own authority and responsibility in favor of further concentrating power in the Executive Branch of government.

It is likely that the Fast Track authority will pass the Senate, but it will in all probability encounter much rougher sledding in the House. One can only hope.

Interestingly, the Trans-Pacific Partnership is an issue that finds the majority Republican Senators aligning with President Obama while most Democrats oppose it. And yet, Conservative Republicans also oppose it. Republican leadership has some explaining to do to its conservative voter base.

Consider that the Export - Import Bank, now linked to the TPP was a key issue in the amazing upset of Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia by unknown conservative, Dave Bratt in last year’s primary in Virginia. That had never happened before - an sitting Majority Leader losing in a primary. Cantor, former Republican Majority Leader in the House, was a strong defender of the Export - Import Bank, perceived by many to be a taxpayer subsidized form of corporate welfare. In my humble opinion, the TPP may serve as an inspiration for many more surprising upsets in the future.