NPC Newsmaker Program: Rep. Sander Levin: Getting America on the "Right Track for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Act"

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May 13, 2015, 01:15 ET

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) will present the Democratic argument on U.S. trade policy at a National Press Club Newsmakers news conference on Thursday, May 14 at 10 a.m. in the club's Murrow Room.

President Obama's initial Senate test to gain "fast track" status for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal failed this week. By a vote of 52 to 45, the Senate denied fast track. The Senate's detractors say the trade agreement gives away too much. The TPP terms are secret trade agreements and Congress must vote without seeing all provisions. The TPP involves a dozen countries and could impact up to 40% of U.S. international trade.

In a recent Washington Post interview, Senator Elizabeth Warren said that the Administration is trying to "grease the skids" to push TPP through.

On the House side, Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) has put forth legislation called the "Right Track for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Act" which aims to level the playing field and increase transparency within TPP provisions. Congressman Levin will come to the National Press Club on Thursday, May 14, to discuss his bill and the arguments surrounding fast track. He says "fast track is in trouble" which hurts the U.S. negotiating position.

According to recent coverage in the Wall Street Journal:

"In April, House Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) introduced a bill that would present a very different direction for U.S. trade policy. The "Right Track for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Act of 2015," called for a deal that would crack down on currency manipulation, toughen enforcement of labor and environmental standards and ease intellectual-property protection to make sure new medicines are more widely available.

The Democratic alternative would also vastly weaken arbitration panels that investors in TPP nations can use to challenge domestic laws. Liberal Democrats and others argue that such panels give companies a way to bypass courts and attack domestic regulation.

The U.S. has pushed such arbitration panels as a way to make sure U.S. companies didn't get trapped in corrupt, unfair legal systems in developing nations…"

Rep. Paul Ryan has attempted to forestall the Levin bill.

This NPC Newsmakers news conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 14 in the club's Murrow Room, on the 13^th floor of the National Press Building, 529 14^th Street NW, Washington DC 20045.

Like all Newsmaker events, this news conference is open to credentialed media and NPC members, free of charge. No advance registration is required.

Contact: Mike Smith, Newsmakers Event Host, [email protected] 703-623-3834
Herb Perone, NPC Newsmakers Chair, 301-512-7636, "[email protected]

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SOURCE National Press Club