Rep. Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican who has led the House push on free trade, said Thursday “we have the votes that we hope to have” ahead of a scheduled Friday showdown on granting President Obama fast-track authority on trade deals. But, Mr. Ryan cautioned, some Democratic support will also be necessary to secure final passage.
“We have the votes that we hope to have,” Mr. Ryan said Thursday on “Fox and Friends.” “We are where we want to be, where we were planning on being, but some Democrats are going to have to support this to get this over the finish line — we’ve been saying that all along.”
GOP leaders this week had moved to block Mr. Obama from negotiating global warming policy or changes to U.S. immigration policy in any new trade deal in a bid to woo wary Republicans, as Mr. Obama and the White House continued lobbying Democrats on the major legislative push.
“Either we shape the global economy as Americans with trade agreements, or it shapes us,” Mr. Ryan said. “The rest of the world is moving. They’re getting trade agreements — China, Europe — and we’re not. That means we’re getting frozen out of markets, and other people are writing the rules of [the] global economy, and as an American who wants to lead, who wants to see our country lead, this is why I’m trying to pass trade.”
Granting Mr. Obama “trade promotion authority” (TPA) would allow the president to send trade deals, such as the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) currently being negotiated, to Congress for an up-or-down vote without opportunities for amendments.
Mr. Ryan, who took a pass on running for president in 2016 but told the AP this week he wouldn’t rule it out in the future, conceded that the final trade agreement itself isn’t yet in place.
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“We’re voting on a procedure: How does Congress consider trade agreements,” Mr. Ryan said. “Then in the fall, probably in the fall, we’ll consider a trade agreement, which hasn’t been completed yet. That’s why we don’t know what’s in it — because it doesn’t exist yet.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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