Except that it was an unconstitutional end run around the Treaty Clause of the Constitution. But nobody cares about the Constitution anymore.
BTW can you name a single fast tracked trade agreement that has been a net benefit to the United States?
Just one.
Hope your not holding your breath waiting for an answer to that
> “Except that it was an unconstitutional end run around the Treaty Clause of the Constitution. But nobody cares about the Constitution anymore.”
Bullsh*t.
> “BTW can you name a single fast tracked trade agreement that has been a net benefit to the United States?”
Yep. Post WWII trade expansion governed by GATT and enforced with the Marshall Plan.
> “Just one.”
The trade bills with Chile, South Korea among many many others.
Note that many people at elite universities write their thesis on international trade. As part of their introductions they cover a great deal of history on GATT, effects of Smoot-Hawley crippling tariffs and hundreds of other issues of trade. You can read about them online. There’s plenty for you to come up to speed by reading and studying. But I sense you won’t be doing that.
The USA is the world’s biggest economy and the US Dollar is the world’s reserve currency because of historical trade agreements.
Let’s get a couple of things clear.
1) Trade agreements are NOT treaties. Why? Because they involve setting tariffs which are revenues to the United States. The Constitution’s Origination Clause requires that all revenue bills originate in the House for Representatives and move to the Senate. Therefore, there is never a treaty requirement to invoke the supermajority of the Senate.
2) Trade agreements NEVER happen without a TPA type vehicle. This is easy to understand. Nations will NOT negotiate with 535 arguing members of Congress. That is always a losing proposition resulting in massive frustration. Therefore, it was decided decades ago that the President would be the go-to guy for negotiating trade and that means in practice the President appoints trade delegations to do the negotiating. The President’s delegates communicate with Congress in the process but Congress doesn’t get to file amendments BUT THEY DO GET TO VOTE UP OR DOWN. So Congress has the final say.
Further, TPA has been around for decades and has always needed to be renewed. The last time it was up for renewal it was during the GW Bush presidency and Harry Reid killed it. The TPA has never been a bad document. It’s just a tool. Depending on what people do with the tool, the results can be beneficial or harmful.
Further again, another factor is the American worker. The American worker goes through cycles depending on the degree of union control. In the 1980s under Ronald Reagan the American auto unions had their asses handed to them. And Judge Green killed Ma Bell with the Carter Phone Decision (not related to Jimmy Carter). Sometimes tough love is best for these unions.
More detail is here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3301266/posts
TRADE DEFICITS
The chronic US Trade Deficit is caused by local politics controlled by democrats and overseen by federal level democrats in executive and congressional agencies.
In other words, the US Trade Deficit is not caused by any particular nation outside the US nor by sweet heart deals with foreign powers nor protectionism in foreign markets. The trade deficits are the results of local politicians, mostly democrats, keeping a lid on American exports unless they are bought off.
In other words again, the US is the cause of its own trade deficit, why?
Because most of the resources, goods and production outside of software and marketing are in industries that are historically conservative, for example, industries that advocate for limited government, lower taxes, free trade etc. And they advocate strongly for these issues because they need them to stay in business. The democrats don’t care unless they are bribed, bribed a lot and with regularity. That’s the reality.
Democrats do not want to empower their opponents by granting them export licenses unless they can somehow get a piece of the action or make the industries bow down before Climate Change or other such rot of the day.
There are many many many resources and commodities that the world is begging for America to sell them but that Americans are not allowed to sell because export licenses are not granted.
This results in more imports than exports and hence large structural trade deficits.
The other large factor that hampers American trade is taxes. There are more than 19 trillion US Dollars offshore because of insane IRS taxes. That means when a large American corporation rakes in revenue overseas. they keep it on deposit overseas to avoid high taxes bringing it back stateside. These taxes cause trade deficits to enlarge even further.
I know where Ted Cruz is coming from. I know what his constituents are pressuring him to do. They want to trade, they want to trade bad. They want to sell things, sell things that are in high demand from foreign markets. And they can’t do it because Obama won’t let them.
The mess we have today was not created by TPA. It was created by regulatory strangleholds mostly held by democrats which are controlling the emerging Beltway Uniparty.
Now all the above is not for your edification because you have agenda that you have to hold onto. That agenda is to try and take down Ted Cruz. Sorry to inform you it’s not working.
No, the above is for those that are reading and wanting more accurate perspectives and who will then take the time to go and hear Ted Cruz when he comes to a townhall meeting near them.