> “I do know that we have been doing trade all wrong, ...”
That’s pretty much true because we’ve had Presidents that are weak on conservative principles. Reagan was strong on trade but he had to go against the lazy, greedy auto unions that were wanting protectionism and who were not competitive. Because of his trade deals which were approved by Fast Track authority (every trade deal since FDR has needed a fast track renewal because without it the trade deals are too messy and never get sorted out) the american Auto Unions had their asses handed to them and the result was a resurgence in American manufacturing quality and competitiveness.
> “...and if TPA is how we’ve been doing it, that is a thing that needs to change.”
No! TPA is not the culprit. No foreign country is going to sit and work trade terms at a table when there is a legislative body (Congress) that turns all the work upside down again and again.
Example:
USTR=US Trade Reps appointed by the President
USTR sits down with multi-nation body to hammer out a trade deal.
USTR calls Senate Majority Leaders office (SMLO) “Mexico agrees to sell their oil at a discount if we import their iron ore”.
SMLO says “yeah sure but Senator Dufus wants to amend the deal that Mexico buys our carbon credits and approves of all our Climate Change rules”.
USTR calls back later and says “Mexico says Fuck You”.
What Fast Track does it to prohibit Senator Dufus from getting his hands into the details. He gets to vote yay or nay on the “Mexico agrees to sell their oil at a discount if we import their iron ore”; he doesn’t get to screw with it.
Without fast track, the deals never get done and other nations give the USA the middle finger.
But here’s an illustration of the kind of deal President Cruz will negotiate:
USTR: “Eurozone is begging on hands and knees for US LNG exports to get out of reach of the Russian bear”.
President Cruz: “Ok, let me get a thumbs up from SMLO and Speaker”. Calls SMLO and Speaker and says “LNG to Europe, Yay or Nay?”.
SMLO and Speaker say “what’s the benefit?”
President Cruz: “Jobs, building new liquefaction plants, new pipelines, export revenues and more jobs”.
SMLO: “What’s in it for me and my K-Street backers?”
President Cruz: “A big Texas boot up your ass”.
SMLO: “ How about Yay for LNG in return for revenue skim on the backend?”
President Cruz: “I don’t like that in principle; it’s dirty.”
Speaker: “One of my K-Streeters wants concessions on gay rights from Poland in return for LNG”.
President Cruz: “Nope, that’s against the rules. We are following fast track rules.”
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TPA under President Cruz is GOOD for America. It boils down to TRUST.
If TPA renewal comes up in 2017, the new vote will require 60 cloture votes in the US Senate and the democrats are never going to give enough to reach 60 with President Cruz in the White House That’s why he wants it now. And that doesn’t mean TPP and all the others under Obama get passed. But even if they are looking to pass, Ted Cruz has successfully filed an amendment (S.Admt 1384 to S.Amdt 1221) to close the door on backdoor amnesty which Hillary needs to get in the White House.
So Ted knows what he’s doing. The question comes down to whether people trust Ted more than any others.
“It boils down to TRUST”
The American public does not trust Congress and they don’t trust Barack H Obama. With good reason.
What this pack of NWO loving quislings should be doing is just passing legislation to cut the corporate income tax in half and encourage the billions of dollars of off shore money to come flowing back in our country to create jobs. Let Malaysia built a plant here and employ our workers.
TPA and TPP are not about trade. They are about fast tracking the wealth of our country into the hands of transnational corporations and the banking cartel.
That’s not really a satisfactory answer, it’s narrative fiction with some dialog thrown in.
We are in a very deep hole on trade and it’s past time to begin taking this seriously. They need to change the process, no more hocum and woo, no more high pressure sleezy used car salesman tactics, let’s try for some transparency. Allegedly they have ALREADY been negotiating for six years, and trust me, people can be very patient when there is a buck to be made, remarkably and astoundingly patient!