Feed industry hails TPA passage in US Senate
The Senate's action – 60 votes in favor and 37 against - sends TPA to President Obama’s desk for his signature. Tuesday's vote follows months of heated debated in both Congressional houses.
TPA was last enacted in 2002 and expired in 2007. It allows the US president to negotiate trade agreements, and the US Congress to set priorities and retain its authority to approve or disapprove those treaties through an up-or-down vote.
Proponents say TPA is an incentive for negotiating nations to put their best offer forward for any agreement.
But opponents of the bill - many Democrats as well as Republicans - said it is undemocratic as it cedes Congressional authority on trade deals to the White House.
Democrats who broke rank and spoke against the measure in the Senate included Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
US feed sector growth
However, the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) said vote recognizes the importance of TPA for continued growth in the US feed and agricultural sectors.
"We now urge President Obama to sign TPA quickly so overseas market opportunities for the US animal food industry and the rest of American agriculture can be realized as soon as possible,” said Joel Newman, AFIA president.
He said congressional approval of TPA means ongoing trade talks, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, can be completed.
In 2014, said the AFIA, the US exported more than $10 billion worth of feed, feed ingredients and pet food.
US National Chicken Council (NCC) president Mike Brown said it has long been an advocate of free and fair trade. TPA, he said, will ensure foreign access for US chicken, generate more farm income, jobs in rural districts, and improve the US trade balance.
“Our negotiators now have better tools to speak as a unified voice and to make sure the interests of US chicken producers are on the table and considered in any trade package moving forward," said Brown.
