美国众议院否决贸易法案

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　　"For the sake of those workers, their families, and their communities, I urge those members of Congress who voted against Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) to reconsider and stand up for American workers," the president said Saturday in his weekly address.

　　The president’s ambitious Asia-Pacific free trade agenda was dealt a serious blow Friday when the House of Representatives voted against the part of the trade package that would have given aid to workers who lost their jobs as a result of U.S. trade deals.

　　Obama’s fellow Democrats⁴, as well as Republicans, voted the measure down 302-126.

　　Obama: Failed Trade Bill Hurts US Workers

　　Even though lawmakers went on to narrowly approve so-called fast-track authority for Obama to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership⁵ (TPP) deal, the overall vote is far from a victory for the president. Republican lawmakers say they will try to bring the workers aid portion up for a new vote Tuesday.

　　Many Democrats are concerned TPP would send more American jobs overseas and hurt the environment. The workers' aid piece was initially⁶ included to appease⁷ Democrats and Mr. Obama went to Capitol Hill Friday morning to make a last minute appeal to key Democratic legislators.

　　Even so, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said she would oppose the legislation. Following the vote, she said in a statement that is time for both parties to negotiate a better deal for the American people."

　　"We look forward to working in a bipartisan way for a trade promotion⁸ authority bill that has better transparency, more consultation⁹ with Congress and stronger protections for congressional priorities — especially labor¹⁰ rights and the environment."

　　On the Republican side, House Speaker John Boehner, who supported the measure, said he was disappointed.

　　"Republicans did our part, and we remain committed to free trade because it is critical to creating jobs and growing our economy," he said. "This is an opportunity for the Democratic Party to take stock and move forward in a constructive¹¹ fashion on behalf of the American people.”

　　Most Republicans support free-trade agreements and therefore agreed with Obama, whom they oppose on most issues. But some tea party Republicans opposed giving the president more power to negotiate trade agreements, and were aligned¹² with progressive Democrats on this issue.

　　A broad coalition¹³ of labor unions, environmentalists and others had pushed hard against the trade agenda for months, with some Democrats saying the president had failed to convince them.

　　Representative Brad Sherman of California said, “Well, obviously he thinks this trade deal will help the American economy and help working families. The vast majority of Democrats and 100 percent of all those organizations of working people disagree.”

　　Claude Barfield of the center-right, Washington-based American Enterprise Institute called the results damaging to Obama’s presidency¹⁴.

　　“The president has made this his major goal for his second administration," Barfield said. "He’s actually gone all out in terms of lobbying for the bill — some things he has never done before.”

　　Analysts¹⁵ said the president's visit to the House just hours ahead of the vote was a risky¹⁶ and highly unusual gesture, but Barfield said the defeat was more than just a serious blow to the president: “It would be seen as a setback¹⁷ for the United States' ability to lead, certainly in Asia, and also later in Europe.”

　　At the daily White House briefing, press secretary Josh Earnest played down the defeat in Congress, calling it a temporary setback. He said the president would continue to aggressively lobby House Democrats, because he believes trade promotion authority is critical to forging TPP and other multinational¹⁸ trade agreements.

　　'Fast Track'

　　The fast track authority that was approved Friday would allow the White House to negotiate the 12-nation Asian trade pact² and others like it while preventing Congress from making any changes in the deals when they come up for approval or rejection¹⁹.

　　Refusal to grant the negotiating authority would make it much more difficult for the administration to secure the TPP deal, which is already years behind schedule.

　　The countries negotiating the TPP are the United States, Vietnam, Singapore, Peru, New Zealand, Mexico, Malaysia, Japan, Chile, Canada, Brunei, and Australia. The U.S.-led pact aims to cover nearly 40 percent of global economic output when completed.

　　The White House has said the TPP would help further break down global trade barriers, open untapped markets, and grow the economy, while providing an important counterbalance to the growing economic strength of China.

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