This week, a Florida congressman urged President Joe Biden to “end his administration’s trade moratorium and begin consultations with Congress to renew Trade Promotion Authority (TPA).”
Buchanan and U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, led Republicans on the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee in sending a letter to Biden on the matter. Brady leads Republicans on the committee. Buchanan is the top Republican on the U.S. House Trade Subcommittee.
“In order to pursue new and ambitions free trade agreements, we need to pass the next iteration of Trade Promotion Authority legislation,” said Buchanan. “If we don’t look beyond our borders to expand and sell more of our goods and services, America will lose influence abroad while also losing jobs here at home.”
Buchanan and the House Republicans called on Biden to back TPA.
“Also known as ‘fast-track’ authority, TPA allows for expedited congressional consideration of trade agreements — provided that certain statutory safeguards are met. TPA offers Congress the option of a simple up-or-down vote on a trade agreement, which is critical to ensure that the U.S. maintains leverage in complex negotiations,” Buchanan’s office noted.
“TPA is the foremost tool at our disposal to ensure that the United States continues to have a leading role in writing the trading rules that regulate the global economy,” Brady, Buchanan and the other Republicans on the Ways and Means Republicans wrote. “TPA renewal is an essential component of a unified U.S. Government approach to determining our international trade negotiation and enforcement priorities. It is only with this unified approach that we can deepen relationships with our allies to counter China through trade policy.”
Buchanan made a similar argument in an op-ed at The Hill early last month.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com
