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Hatch offers fast-track, trade agency consolidation amendments
The top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee is planning to offer several amendments to a Senate budget resolution that would smooth congressional approval of trade agreements and streamline federal agencies handling trade issues.
Senate Finance Committee ranking member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has filed three trade-related amendments — trade promotion authority, creating a new position to oversee intellectual property negotiations and consolidating trade agencies, except those at the Cabinet level such as the U.S. Trade Representative.
The Hatch amendments seek to create deficit-neutral reserve funds for the amendments, which would mean down the road that if any of the three amendments were offered as bills they could avoid a budget point of order. Creating a reserve fund allows the Budget Committee chairman to adjust the budget resolution’s allocations to account for future legislation that may be considered and avoid triggering a budget point of order.
Hatch, who has been pressing the White House to move forward with fast-track authority, intends to offer an amendment that calls for implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which is expected to be completed this year, along with a U.S.-European Union trade deal, which is set to begin talks in June, and any other potential free-trade agreements to be done under trade promotion authority (TPA).
There are a couple of other amendments calling for trade promotion authority, including one by Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), a former U.S. Trade represenative.
Senators have started their first batch of votes, which are expected to last until around 8 p.m.
In a Thursday letter, Hatch told acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis that he is looking "forward to the negotiations we have ahead of us to developing a sound process with strong negotiating objectives that will yield the highest standards in our trade agreements, giving U.S. businesses and farmers the best opportunities abroad."
Hatch and others have argued that TPA is needed to ensure Congress has a say in defining the objectives for trade agreements while assuring potential trading partners that the United States will follow through and ratify the deals.
In another amendment he called for an international trade agency reorganization, except for those agencies within the Executive Office of the President, such as the USTR.
More than a year ago, President Obama called on lawmakers to give him the authority to consolidate business and trade agencies with the aiming of to saving billions of dollars. Any recommendations would be sent to Congress for final approval. He has suggested merging the Small Business Administration and five other trade and business offices, including USTR, into a single agency that would replace the Commerce Department.
But the idea hasn't gained any traction and some business groups have said they are wary of any plan that would remove the U.S. Trade Representative form the Cabinet.
The third amendment would create of an office of chief intellectual property rights negotiator at the USTR, always a major issue in working out trade deals.
This story was updated at 6:30 p.m.
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