Senate Democrats block action on Obama's trade agenda, putting TPP on hold

This is the end of TPP in its current form. Good riddance.

I hope the other countries can sit down again to negotiate something a bit more reasitic and less ambitious. Leave agriculture, ISDS, medical treatment/diagnosis patents and unlimited copyright protections for Mickey Mouse off the table next time.

I'm glad the senate decided to take some power back from Obama.

It is quite ironic that one of the contentious issues is "dealing with countries that manipulate their currency" considering that quantitative easing is worse than direct foreign exchange intervention.

Leave agriculture** ok so we may as well include electronics, automobiles and parts as well. start going down that road then everyone will be asking for special treatment, and it wont be a TPP/FTA. LOL

Consider this a temporary reprieve. I expect Obamao will give himself the power via Executive Order.

Well if there was ever proof that Obama is center, and not left, this is it.

Anyways, if this is the end of the TPP, great. This was never good for any of us.

Wow he is center? Must be a NPR listener wheres the proof there mabe dems realize when all the jobs go away they lose there job taxation without representation

This is a strange twist. The Republicans supporting Obama on something, and Democrats opposing Obama. US politics is hard to understand. I don't like TTP at all, so this is great news.

TPP is all of the things that we used to say were bad with communism.

The end result will be no competition. Small companies will be taken over by huge conglomerates. The monopolies will run the show. We will have to eat the GMO crap that they give us because there will be nothing else. The internet will be completely censored.

All this and much, much more.

Which is precisely why these "negotiations" are being conducted under the strictest secrecy.

gokai_wo_manekuMay. 13, 2015 - 06:39PM JST

This is a strange twist. The Republicans supporting Obama on something, and Democrats opposing Obama. US politics is hard to understand.

It's very easy really. The US is not a free meal for others and the US experience of previous FTAs has not been a good one because the other partners of the agreements, through currency manipulation and non-tariff barriers, have back tracked on the agreements.

US exports to South Korea have actually gone down since the US - South Korean FTA was signed, while South Korean exports to the US have nearly doubled.

Of course, not to state the obvious, but it is needed because some posters on here think that refusal of fast track permission was based on the actual content of the TPP, the TPP includes the biggest currency manipulator of all....Japan.

Just look at the Japanese current surplus account figures published today for evidence. Japan's current account surplus increased, yet its currency weakened. If that isn't currency manipulation, what is?

Word on the street is O is trying to pass this along with the big corp loving repubs cause he's trying to set himself up some high paying gigs after he leaves office.

Tuesday’s vote highlighted the deep divide between Obama and the many congressional Democrats who say such trade deals hurt U.S. jobs. Leading the fight against fast track are labor unions and liberal groups, which are crucial to many Democrats’ elections.

Really unfortunate. Hate to say it, but I side with the Republicans on this one.

@Gary the biggest currency manipulator? Nobody complained two years ago when the yen shot up to 76 yen to the dollar. Those always complaining US auto makers could have made a killing in the Japanese market based on price. But did we hear anything from them? No, NOTHING!

The good news is that there are free trade agreement negotiations going on right now between Japan, China, and South Korea. I cannot find it reported anywhere, but only found out about it at the CCTV (China Central TV) home page. I'm sure that this trade agreement will serve everyone better than this TTP.

gokai_without_maneku,

What you write is very interesting. I didn't know about the free trade agreements going on between Japan, China and South Korea. That would make a lot of sense. It's a much better idea to trade with close neighbours than countries several thousand kilometres away.

The Obama administration opposes “currency manipulation” measures, saying they could invite international challenges to the Federal Reserve’s policies meant to boost the U.S. economy.

What this actually means: The Obama administration opposes excluding countries that manipulate their currencies because the U.S. Federal Reserve does it routinely, and they'd have to exclude themselves.

Sometimes I wonder if America's leaders are anything but crooks and liars.

gokai_wo_manekuMay. 13, 2015 - 09:44PM JST

@Gary the biggest currency manipulator? Nobody complained two years ago when the yen shot up to 76 yen to the dollar.

The Japanese did. The basic law of international FX is that all being equal (no mercantilism and no insane domestic economic policies), those countries running current account surpluses, should see their currency strengthen and those running current account deficits, should see their currencies weaken.

Historically this has nearly always happened, the Dutch currency in the 17th Century, the French Livre in the 18th Century, the British Pound in the 19th Century and the US Dollar in the first half of the 20th Century.

However in the second half of the 20th Century the Japanese re-invention of neo-mercantilism, a model since copied by other north east Asian countries has messed up the natural law of international currency exchange.

Neo-mercantilism is not just the scourge of international trade, it's the scourge on the countries who apply it. It's the Ben Johnson of economic progress. It's winning the 100 metres now and suffering the health consequences later. As many people have pointed out, it leads to a complete distortion of the domestic economy. An eventual lack of efficient industries because of a lack of competition and a lack of new industries and initiatives. Japan suffers from this and why should the US worker pay the price by extending the Japanese addiction to the neo-mercantilist model for another 5 years through the TPP. This is what the US Democrats are objecting to.

gokai_wo_maneku

Those always complaining US auto makers could have made a killing in the Japanese market based on price. But did we hear anything from them? No, NOTHING!

'Killing' is the operative word. Why should have the US have wanted to 'kill' Japanese industries who employ Japanese people, who through their wage packets are consumers of US products? Someone really has to get through to the north east Asian economic mindset that 'killing the jobs of others, limits your selling base, especially when most of what you produce are high end goods. The Ford CEO boasting to the head of the Ford workers union, as they gazed on a modern robot operated factory floor, 'try getting those to join your union,' being met with the reply, 'try getting those to buy your products.'

gokai_wo_maneku

The good news is that there are free trade agreement negotiations going on right now between Japan, China, and South Korea. I cannot find it reported anywhere, but only found out about it at the CCTV (China Central TV) home page. I'm sure that this trade agreement will serve everyone better than this TTP.

Are you for serious? The 3 main mercantilist economies of 4, missing Germany, are going to come to some sort of agreement about fair free trade, is like 3 thieves trying to persuade the others to leave all their ill gotten gains in their sole care. The Koreans, the Japanese and the Chinese have been talking for the last 5 years on an FTA and will, with their present economic mindsets, continue for the next 5, without any progress. They're all playing the same game of cheating the other. America is not prepared to be cheated anymore.

By the way I am not American.

Beside the points others have brought out on what is wrong with this agreement, the biggest reason why the Dems don't want it is that once signed, a by product of it would make it so that in future trade agreements, the President can send a treaty to the Senate, and all the Senate will be able to do is vote yes or no, and not be able to amend it as it can currently be done. Therby leaving the Executive branch the sole part of the government that will be able to negotiate treaties.

My guess is that if this would have been done in 2009-10, when Obama had first started out it would have passed, based on my assumption that they knew he was going to get re-elected in 2012 Remeber how some of the pundits back then were saying how much easier it would be if Obama just had the power to do what needs to be done to get legislation signed into law and bypass Congress. Well if this had gone through, something similar to that would have happened. The fact that it didn't tells me that the fix is in for the next elections. There will be a GOP President, just not sure who it will be. If there was another Dem that was a sure walk into the White House, they would have voted for this easily.

They are all pretty much the same thing Demicans or Republicrats in that they are only out for themselves and the nice lobbying jobs on K Street when they get out of office.

Most democrats lobbyst have been investing in china. No wonder why they put it on hold

Thank you Elizabeth Warren. TPP is so dumb and only for corporations that want cheap Asian labour. Countries have to stop electing traitors to their own populations.

H@ve a Nobel prize economists view on TPP. Just search for: STIGLITZ, The secret corporate takeover hidden in the TPP.

Never thought I'd say this but I'm glad Obama lost this one.

Here's hoping opposition to the TPP hardens even further as more of it's largely unpalatable content is leaked.

As a Canadian all the protections and sectors of the economy that were supposed to survive NAFTA are all but gone. Similarly, the TPP will take down whatever remains of government choice elected by the people to instead corporate choice, dictated to the world

You can't survive climate change or have environmental protection in an environment where companies can sue governments for damages stopping their activities.

This is the last hurrah of global economics when the world instead needs a new relocalization, should it wish to improve the lives of its citizens and the health of the planet.

Every government at these talks are traitors to their own people, my own included. I hate it because it benefits no one, only corporations. It's like a mental illness

ook, lets the status quo unchanged!