Doug Palmer reports for Reuters that the USTR and Congressional Democrats have worked out a deal on U.S. trade negotiating objectives: Democrats, Bush strike deal on trade (Reuters, May 10).
Under the trade promotion authority (TPA), the President negotiates trade deals following guidelines laid down by Congress. I assume this deal as an agreement to change the interpretation placed on the language of existing trade promotion authority, and an understanding on the content of any future legislation to extend TPA.
Key elements apparently include:
The deal announced on Thursday includes a binding commitment for the United States and its four free-trade partners to abide by five core International Labor Organization standards, such as the right to organize and bargain collectively and the regulation of child labor.
It also makes seven major multilateral agreements enforceable under the bilateral trade pacts.
Other parts of the deal affect intellectual property, port security and government procurement provisions of the four pending trade pacts. One section is aimed at ensuring patent protections do not interfere with the ability of poor people to have access to life-saving drugs.
The deal could affect FTAs with Peru, Columbia, Panama and South Korea.
Schwab told reporters the four countries would have to agree to changes in the trade pacts, which in the case of Peru and Colombia have already been signed.
Peter Goodman and Lori Montgomery report on the deal for the Washington Post: Path Is Cleared For Trade Deals (May 11).
The draft U.S.-Korea FTA was the result of hard negotiations. The actual text still hasn't been released. This new understanding of U.S. negotiating goals appears to mean that several elements of it may now have to be revisited.
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