Press Releases

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to renew Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). Since 1974, Congress has used TPA to establish a process for negotiating and considering trade agreements. This bipartisan bill expands Congress’s role by setting clean negotiating objectives and requiring the President to engage in a more open and transparent negotiating process for any future trade deals, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP), which are currently being negotiated.

As public concern mounts over the secrecy of these trade deals, TPA serves as a solution that increases the transparency of these deals by creating the congressional blueprint for negotiations and providing formal publication for ample congressional and public review, as well as the authority to stop them if they are not in the best interest of the American people.

Following passage of the bill, Congressman French Hill (AR-2) released the following statement:

“One of the loudest criticisms surrounding TPA is that it gives the President unlimited power in negotiating trade deals. This is simply not true. TPA strengthens the system of checks and balances in the Federal Government and gives Congress and the American people a say in trade negotiations. With TPA, we are, in fact, intensifying—not weakening—congressional oversight to all future trade negotiations.

“Currently, trade supports more than 38 million American jobs and over 27,000 jobs in Arkansas. We have an opportunity to grow this number and significantly expand our local and national economies. With 95 percent of the world’s consumers living outside of the United States, favorable trade agreements give farmers and manufacturers in Arkansas easier access to billions of new customers. TPA is the first step in fighting to open these markets.

“I will continue to work with my colleagues in the House to ensure that trade deals are favorable for American and Arkansan families and that American workers and innovators lead and thrive in today’s global economy.”

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Additional Information

Summary of TPA from House Ways and Means Committee

Heritage Foundation: TPA Advances Economic Freedom

Paul Ryan and Ted Cruz: TPA Puts Congress in Charge of Trade

CATO: Trade Promotion Authority Is not an Executive Power Grab

CATO: Top Nine Myths About Trade Promotion Authority And The Trans-Pacific Partnership