Great news, it looks like the Obama free trade agreements are dead. If they don't pass them this year, there is zero chance they will get passed in an election year, 2012. Senate Democrats back Obama on trade deals delay (Reuters) - Forty-one Senate Democrats told President Barack Obama on Monday they agreed with his decision to not send three free-trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and... [more]
Great news, it looks like the Obama free trade agreements are dead. If they don't pass them this year, there is zero chance they will get passed in an election year, 2012.
Senate Democrats back Obama on trade deals delay
(Reuters) - Forty-one Senate Democrats told President Barack Obama on Monday they agreed with his decision to not send three free-trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama to Congress until Republicans agree to renew an expanded worker-retraining program.
"We recognize, as you do, that such a deal will be challenging to secure because it requires significant bipartisan commitments in both chambers of Congress to vote in favor of a TAA (Trade Adjustment Assistance) extension," the senators said in a letter.
The letter from more than three-quarters of the 51 Democrats in the Senate shows the hard bargaining that is still needed to win approval of the free-trade agreements with the three nations remaining from the administration of former President George W. Bush.
The Obama administration has been laboring for eight months to resolve Democratic party concerns over the agreements.
The TAA program helps retrain workers who have lost their jobs because of import competition or a factory moving abroad. It was expanded in 2009 to include service industry workers and workers who had lost their jobs because of competition from China and India in addition to U.S. free trade partners.
The 2009 reforms, which expired at the start of the year, also included provisions to make it more affordable for displaced workers to purchase healthcare.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/24/us-usa-trade-deals-idUSTRE74M4UD20110524
There is ZERO chance that the Republicans will support the TAA, so bye bye free trade!
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Response by Socialist
almost 15 years ago
Posts: 2261
Member since: Feb 2010
"Just a few weeks ago, the administration saw the TAA battle as surmountable. Now, unless lawmakers reach consensus soon, the trade pacts won't pass before the August recess, congressional aides say. After that, chances of passage grow slimmer as the 2012 election nears and lawmakers avoid controversial votes.
"We're fighting like hell because if the vote doesn't happen by the recess, we risk it not happening in the fall," said Christopher Wenk, senior director for international policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. On Thursday, scores of business leaders visited all 100 senators to lobby for the agreements, and they plan to call on each House member in coming days."
"Just a few weeks ago, the administration saw the TAA battle as surmountable. Now, unless lawmakers reach consensus soon, the trade pacts won't pass before the August recess, congressional aides say. After that, chances of passage grow slimmer as the 2012 election nears and lawmakers avoid controversial votes.
"We're fighting like hell because if the vote doesn't happen by the recess, we risk it not happening in the fall," said Christopher Wenk, senior director for international policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. On Thursday, scores of business leaders visited all 100 senators to lobby for the agreements, and they plan to call on each House member in coming days."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304066504576349832361669832.html
Smoot Hawley
“Listen you mother fu**ers, we’re going to tax you 25%!”
--Donald Trump