The Democrats Turn Their Backs on Obama’s Trade Deal

Published in El Periódico
(Spain) on 13 May 2015
by Carles Planas Bou (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Beth Holding. Edited by Alison Lacey.
Barack Obama faces a new and unforeseen enemy. The president has long been accustomed to the Republicans blocking his initiatives, but now it’s the Democrats’ turn to stand in his way. He sure didn’t see that one coming! This Tuesday, progressive senators dealt the president a heavy blow, refusing to grant him powers in order to negotiate Pacific trade deals. The White House attempted to generate internal support, but the Democrats turned their backs on the proposal. With 52 votes in favor and 40 against, Obama fell eight votes short of achieving his ultimate goal. The Republicans, on the other hand, are somewhat more inclined to facilitate multinational proceedings and will support the president in what is an unlikely partnership.

The Free Market Controversy

The Democratic “cold shoulder” is motivated by ongoing negotiations for an Asian-Pacific free trade agreement, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which would connect 40 percent of the world's economy and about one-third of all world trade. Obama perceives this as an opportunity to further his legacy, and to face up to economic expansion in China, but this initiative, like the TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership), has not been without difficulties.

The TPP will constitute the largest trading pact since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which established three-way trade between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. The pact was backed by George H.W. Bush, a firm believer in the neoliberal politics of Ronald Reagan. Supporters of the TPP argue that that it will create more jobs, and benefit U.S. exports. Those who oppose it, however, claim that it benefits only multinational corporations at the expense of workers, and will lead to a more precarious job market and salary reductions.

Opposition from Within

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has successfully rejected a bill that would fast-track the deal through Congress with no amendments. Only one Democrat supported the president.

At the forefront of attacks on Obama’s free trade policy is Sen. Elizabeth Warren, flag bearer for the party’s most progressive and leftist wing. Warren, like Reid, is firmly opposed to the project. She claims that pacts like NAFTA caused extreme job dislocation in the U.S. and ended up destroying hundreds of employment prospects.

At this stage, the bill is regarded as classified information, meaning members of Congress are granted only limited access. While such information is withheld from the general public, large corporations such as Wal-Mart, Apple, Nike, or the American Petroleum Institute enjoy full access. These are all multinational firms currently advising Obama, who, during his 2008 campaign, was opposed to any such trade agreement.


A Barack Obama le ha surgido un nuevo enemigo. El presidente está acostumbrado a que los republicanos bloqueen sus propuestas pero no a que sus opositores sean los propios demócratas. Este martes los senadores progresistas han dado un duro golpe a la política comercial de Obama al negarse a otorgarle poderes para negociar un acuerdo comercial con países del Pacífico.

La Casa Blanca trató ganarse el apoyo de los suyos pero la bancada demócrata se opuso a la propuesta. Con 52 votos a favor y 40 en contra, Obama se quedó a ocho votos de lograr su objetivo. Los republicanos, más propensos a facilitar el juego a las grandes empresas, apoyaron al presidente en un acto casi insólito durante sus seis años de mandato.

LIBRE MERCADO POLÉMICO

El motivo de la revuelta demócrata es el acuerdo de libre comercio que los Estados Unidos negocia con países asiáticos y americanos, conocida como la Asociación Transpacífica (TPP por sus siglas en inglés), y que conectaría el 40% de la economía y un tercio del comercio mundial. Obama ve en este acuerdo una oportunidad para marcar su legado y hacer frente a la expansión económica de China pero, como la TTIP (Asociación Transatlántica para el Comercio y la Inversión), no ha estado exento de polémica.

El TPP crearía el mayor acuerdo comercial desde el Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte que liberalizó el comercio entre Estados Unidos, Canadá y México, un proyecto impulsado por George Bush padre, heredero de las políticas neoliberales de Ronald Reagan. Los defensores del TPP argüían que creará más empleos y beneficiará las exportaciones estadounidenses. Los opositores critican que “se beneficie a las multinacionales a expensas de los trabajadores” y que el acuerdo servirá para precarizar el mercado laboral y bajar los salarios.

OPOSICIÓN DENTRO DEL PARTIDO

El líder de la minoría demócrata en el Senado, Harry Reid, se apuntó una victoria al conseguir que la propuesta de dar poderes a Obama para negociar por la vía rápida sin la aprobación del Congreso se hundiera. Sólo un demócrata apoyó al presidente.

Al frente de la crítica a las medidas de libre mercado del presidente Obama se encuentra la senadora Elizabeth Warren, abanderada del ala más progresista e izquierdista del partido. Warren, como Reid, son abiertamente opositores al proyecto. Este sector critica que pactos como el de América del Norte impulsaron la deslocalización empresarial que ha terminado golpeando al país y destruyendo centenares de puestos de trabajo.

Actualmente, el texto del proyecto está clasificado y sólo pueden acceder a él algunos congresistas a cuentagotas. Los ciudadanos de a pié no pueden leerse el proyecto pero sí que lo pueden hacer grandes corporaciones como Walmart, Apple, Nike o el Instituto Americano del Petróleo, multinacionales que asesoran al Gobierno de un Obama que en su campaña presidencial de 2008 se oponía a este tipo de acuerdos.
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