Senate committee clears fast track for controversial trade deal

Legislation to give the White House fast-track authority to nail down trade pacts cleared its first hurdle in Congress on Wednesday as a committee backed the bill and sent it to the full Senate for consideration.

Approved by the Senate Finance Committee in a 20-6 vote, the legislation would prevent Congress from amending trade deals, instead allowing for just up-or-down votes.

It is vital to closing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an agreement that would link a dozen economies and cover a third of global trade. The trade pact is central to President Barack Obama's strategic shift toward Asia.

The House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to vote Thursday on a fast-track bill similar to one endorsed by the Senate Finance Committee. Fast-track authority could now go to the full Senate for a vote as early as next week, just as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is due in Washington to address lawmakers at a joint meeting of Congress, but it needs to be approved by the House of Representatives as well.

On Tuesday, Japan's top trade negotiator sounded an optimistic note on reaching a deal with the United States.

"Tonight’s committee action marks a pivotal moment for international trade policy and reflects years of true bipartisan work," said committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, a Republican.

After lively debate in the committee, senators rejected an amendment that would have exposed nations that manipulate their currencies to sanctions, although it could be resurrected in the House of Representatives. Japan has warned that tough currency provisions in fast-track could kill the agreement.

The panel instead backed two other provisions beefing up rules against currency manipulation in a separate bill accompanying the fast-track legislation.

Senators defied warnings from the Obama administration and backed a change opening the door to import duties against countries found to be manipulating their currencies.

The other provision, supported by the administration, would allow the United States to consider restricting government purchases from those nations or even block them from future trade deals.

The bill was approved along with measures to extend trade preferences for African nations and aid to workers who lose their jobs due to trade.

The bill is backed by many Republicans, farmers and business groups who think trade deals in the pipeline will cut tariffs on U.S. exports and set higher standards for U.S. intellectual property

Many Democrats, however, fear that new trade deals will cause a repeat of the factory closures and job losses seen after the North American Free Trade Agreement among the United States, Canada and Mexico was approved in 1993.

The top Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, is offering an alternative bill that would make greater demands on trading partners on issues including workers' conditions and currency policies. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California backs Levin's efforts.

Obama says his Democratic opponents have their facts wrong. "I would not be doing this trade deal if I did not think it was good for the middle class," he said this week. He said Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is among those "wrong" on the issue.

Warren responded with a blog post, writing, "The government doesn't want you to read this massive new trade agreement. It's top secret."

Obama and his trade allies reject such claims. They say fast-track and other trade proposals have been carefully negotiated and will undergo public scrutiny for months before final votes take place.

The White House sees the trade agreement as a counterweight to China's influence in the Asia-Pacific region and has warned that the Asian giant will set the rules for trade if the U.S. does not move ahead with the pact, which is near completion.

The trade agreement must pass Congress this year to avoid being bogged down in the run-up to the 2016 U.S. elections, where it could put Hillary Clinton, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president, in a difficult spot.

Clinton, who championed the pact as secretary of state under Obama, has been cautious in her stance. On Tuesday, she said any trade deal had to "produce jobs and raise wages and increase prosperity and protect our security."

Wire services