TheHill.com Vicki Needham - 02/08/15

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is putting his muscle into reaching a deal on trade with President Obama.

The new chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee is speaking about the trade agenda on an almost daily basis, and sending the signal that the White House and congressional Republicans can reach an agreement to approve fast-track negotiating authority, which would speed the consideration of two pending trade deals.

“Completing these trade deals is my No. 1 priority,” Ryan said Thursday at a Washington International Trade Association event in Washington

Along with Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio), the chairman of the subcommittee on Trade Chairman Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio), Ryan plans to hold dozens of meetings with members of his own party to build support for the agenda.

While Democrats are more divided on fast-track — and Ryan has argued that Obama must deliver support from his own party — the Ways and Means chairman is also focused on producing Republican votes.

Ryan sees trade as an area where the Republican-controlled Congress and Obama can work together, and where the GOP can show its ability to govern...SNIP

...Ryan has been notable in his praise for Obama’s efforts on trade. He has said that he appreciates Obama ratcheting up his involvement in the push for Democratic votes.

He and the president are also pushing back on some policies they believe could submarine support for fast-track and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal with Asian and Latin American countries, such as demands that it include language targeting foreign currency manipulation.

Ryan told reporters this week that he expects fast-track, also known as trade promotion authority, to pass this spring despite loads of Democratic opposition...SNIP

Complete article: http://thehill.com/policy/finance/23...s-trade-agenda

Ryan, Rand Paul, Obama and Clinton, all working for the same thing. Heartwarming, isn't it.



The Trans-Pacific Partnership Is a Huge Deal. So Why Is It Being Kept Secret?



President Barack Obama’s administration has come under criticism due to its unwillingness to release the full text of the prospective TPP agreement between the United States and 11 Asian nations.

David Sirota February 6, 2015

The trade rules of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership between the United States and 11 Asian nations would cover nearly 40 percent of the world economy—but don't ask what they are. Access to the text of the proposed deal is highly restricted.

Nevertheless, at last month’s World Economic Forum in Switzerland, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman defended the Obama administration from intensifying criticism of its refusal to release the full text of the proposed trade pact...SNIP

...“It is incomprehensible to me that leaders of major corporate interests who stand to gain enormous financial benefits from this agreement are actively involved in the writing of the TPP, while at the same time, the elected officials of this country, representing the American people, have little or no knowledge of what’s in it,” wrote U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in a letter to Froman last month...SNIP
MORE: http://inthesetimes.com/article/17608/tpp_negotiations

LA TIMES: 'Free trade' isn't what Trans-Pacific Partnership would deliver

Michael Hiltzik Los Angeles Times February 7, 2015

In principle, almost everyone's in favor of free trade. It promotes international harmony, raises wages, helps economies grow. It's an article of historical faith that the enactment of harsh protective U.S. tariffs in 1930 contributed to the Great Depression. And who wants that?

But "free trade" has little to do with the trade deal that President Obama hopes will be a high-water mark for his administration's foreign policy: the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, which now involve the U.S. and 11 Pacific Rim countries — Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam...snip

..."Most of these provisions have nothing to do with trade or jobs," says liberal economist Joseph Stiglitz, a leading critic of the deal and the secrecy of the talks.
MORE: http://www.latimes.com/business/hilt...06-column.html

Where does Rand Stand?

Rand Paul to Obama: Finish TPP Trade Deal



U.S. Senator and Republican presidential hopeful Rand Paul (R-KY) is calling on President Barack Obama to conclude negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) by year’s end.

Last week Senator Paul gave what his office billed as a major foreign policy address comprehensively outlining his “Conservative Realism” vision for American foreign policy...
http://thediplomat.com/2014/10/rand-...pp-trade-deal/