Obama’s fast track trade deal is passed by the US Senate. TPP and TTIP can now begin

JUST IN: Pelosi endorses TAA after blocking it last week to sink fast-track bill http://t.co/t9bh3jgMJM pic.twitter.com/EXSQRsV98C

— The Hill (@thehill) June 24, 2015

And just like that, Obama has now set the stage to roll out a world order where nations states are effectively run by multinational corporations. Wall Street wins again.

The US Senate passed, with a 60-38 vote, Obamatrade. Now TPP and TTIP can get fast tracked into law.

RT reports…

Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), as the measure is called, means that Congress will only get to vote up or down on the treaties in question once they are finalized by the White House, without the ability to offer amendments.

Obama has faced strong opposition from his own Democratic Party, with prominent lawmakers such as Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) in the Senate and Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in the House breaking ranks to speak and vote against the measure.

Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers that usually oppose Obama at every turn by and large backed the president on the issue, though with some notable exceptions. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), one of the contenders for the Republican presidential nomination, voted against closing the debate on TAP on Tuesday.

Opposition by the Democrats meant a rocky road for the TPA in Congress. After losing the first procedural vote on May 12, the measure ended up passing the Senate on May 23. The House approved fast-track powers on June 12, but struck down the companion measure without which the proposal could not move forward – only to approve a standalone fast-track bill on June 18.

House Democrats tried to hold TPA hostage by refusing to back Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), a program giving government aid to workers who lost their jobs as a consequence of free-trade deals. With the TPA’s passage, continued opposition to TAA made no sense. Pelosi, leader of the Democrats in the House, signaled she would back the bill when it came up for a vote later this week.

“TAA was being used as a bargaining chip for TPA, and that’s why we very much resisted,” Sandy Levin (D-Michigan) told reporters on Wednesday after a meeting of the Democratic Caucus.

Some Democrats were displeased that the Republican leadership in the House packaged the TAA with the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), but the caucus decided that opposing the measures would send the wrong message.

“It’s disgusting that they were attached, but we have to play the hand we were dealt,” said G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, adding he will vote in favor of the bill.

Many groups are opposed to the proposed free-trade pacts the White House has been negotiating in secrecy. Environmentalists object to the leaked language limiting US ability to legislate against climate change. Labor unions are concerned the pacts would result in more American jobs lost to overseas competition, as has happened with previous free-trade deals. While the conservatives favor the free trade aspects of the pacts, they have raised concerns over immigration and certain provisions that could supersede US sovereignty.

References:

http://rt.com/usa/269497-senate-tpa-obama-tpp/