INFORMATION FROM THE OFFICE OF MATT SALMON REGARDING TPA/TPPPosted: 2015-05-15
There is a lot information and questions floating around about this issue and hopefully this will help to clarify some of the questions. Please review attachments.
I think there is some confusion here. TPA can be read by anyone. I have attached the bill to the email. Matt has now completed it and found no concerns. Again, it essentially gives the Executive branch a "fast-track" authority to negotiate trade deals, AND TPA also forces any trade agreement to first be approved by Congress. This is something we have given every President for the last 50 years.
TPP is still being negotiated, and therefore is considered top secret. HOWEVER, once an agreement is made in order, the public (i.e. you and anyone else) will have 60 days to review it. Further, Congress will still have to approve it with an up or down vote. Hence, Congress still has the ability to kill the deal if it is found to be a bad deal. On that note, since Matt has clearance, he has been able to review portions of the current agreement and has found nothing alarming thus far. But again, if something is found to be bad, he can still vote it down.
The important thing to note here is that TPA has to come first, before TPP.
As for your "guarantee of increase in American jobs, I would point out that nothing we do in Congress -- not TPA, TPP, any "jobs bills", etc - can always guarantee an increase in American jobs so I find that pledge a little too much. Having said that, keep in mind that we have a trade surplus of $58 billion among nations that we currently have a trade agreement with. China does not count, since we DO NOT have a trade agreement with them. Remember, our tariffs are already low, which is why TPP is needed. It will force other nations in the agreement to lower their tariffs so we can export more easily to their consumers. And of course, the more we export, the more American jobs are created.
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