Washington , D.C. – National Foreign Trade Council President Bill Reinsch today commended key House members for their bipartisan proposal to break the logjam on trade promotion authority (TPA) and urged that the process move forward to complete action before Congress adjourns.
Swift action on TPA is vital to advancing America ’s economic leadership and engagement with the rest of the world and essential to stimulating economic growth and prosperity at home and abroad,” Reinsch stated. “The NFTC has consistently urged bipartisan action on TPA since it expired several years ago. It has taken on even greater urgency given the current economic downturn and uncertainty in the global marketplace. The likelihood of a launch of a new WTO round of multilateral trade negotiations this year is one more critical reason to act now.”
The NFTC applauded Congressmen Thomas (R-CA), Jefferson (D-LA), Tanner (D-TN), and Dooley (D-CA) for their leadership in developing a compromise TPA bill that addressess concerns that have been raised on both sides of the aisle.
“It is a common sense, middle ground approach that I hope will allow us to move forward on trade negotiations while addressing concerns about labor and the environment,” Reinsch continued. “Although not all members of the business community will embrace the new approach, we recognize that it is a compromise measure that seeks to broaden the overall level of support for our nation’s trade agenda.”
Reinsch noted that the compromise proposal retains and bolsters the historical role of Congress in setting forth trade negotiating objectives without mandating specific outcomes in advance of any trade negotiation. It also establishes a strong partnership between the legislative and executive branches on trade.
In a September 6 letter to members of the House, the NFTC called on Congress to approve TPA this year in a bipartisan manner and stressed its importance to restarting the U.S. and global economy and renewing U.S. economic leadership, among other important points. The NFTC letter is available at www.nftc.org.
Contact: Eric Thomas
Emily Kelley
(202) 822-9491
