June 18, 2014
New Zealand PM’s Visit to U.S. Capital Comes Amid Congressional Concerns about TPP
Note: This week, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key Abbott meets President Barack Obama in Washington. Among topics to
be discussed are the stalled negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The controversial “free trade” agreement,
which includes the United States, New Zealand and 10 other nations, was to have been completed in 2013.
As opposition to TPP has grown in the United States, the Congress has refused to grant Obama Fast Track trade authority
for the pact. Following are statements on the TPP from Democratic and Republican members of
Congress:
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.)
Contact: Sara Lonardo (202) 225-3661 or Sara.Lonardo@mail.house.gov
“The majority of Americans are tired of flawed trade deals that ship jobs overseas and weaken consumer protections.
Congress has no appetite to provide the Administration with fast track authority to ram through another bad trade deal
that only expands the failed trade policies
of the past. Instead of fast tracking another bad trade deal, we should be focused on policies that support the middle
class and provide better opportunities for those striving to join the middle class.
The TPP will include binding obligations that touch upon a wide swath of policy matters [constitutionally] under the
authority of Congress. Beyond traditional tariff issues, these include policies related to labor, patent and copyright,
land use, food, agriculture and product standards; natural resources, the environment, professional licensing,
competition, state-owned enterprises and government procurement policies; as well as financial, healthcare, energy,
e-commerce, telecommunications and other service sector regulations.”
– DeLauro is part of the House Democratic leadership. She co-chairs the House Steering and Policy Committee. She leads a
group of House members working on TPP.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky Jr. (D-Ill.)
Contact: Andrew Goczkowski (202) 225-2111 or Andrew.Goczkowski@mail.house.gov
On U.S. drug companies that hope to weaken the authority of price-governing entities such as
Pharmac: “One of my trade priorities is to make sure that intellectual property protections for pharmaceutical companies
don’t trump affordable access to life-saving medicines. We should not protect drug company profits if it means pricing
life-saving medications out of reach of millions of children and adults.”
– Schakowsky is the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
She is among a group of representatives that sent the White House a letter urging that access to affordable health care
in member states be among U.S. demands at the TPP negotiations.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas)
Contact Leslie Tisdale (202) 225-4865 or Leslie.Tisdale@mail.house.gov
On the investor-state system: “Though we have no dispute resolution (process) with Australia, we haven’t had any
problem. There is a concern in some countries that their courts systems are not sufficiently mature to provide
protection to U.S. investors to the degree that they would receive in the United States. With foreign tobacco giants
attempting to undermine Australian health initiatives, I am surprised that Australia would contemplate abandoning
an open, well-established judicial system in favor of a narrow investor dispute resolution mechanism that advantages
foreign investors.”
– Doggett is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. Previously, he was a Texas state Supreme Court justice and
led the effort to enact the “Doggett amendment,” which forbids U.S. trade agreements from promoting the export of
tobacco.
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.)
Contact: Eric Walker (202) 225-2888 or Eric.Walker@mail.house.gov
“Our constituents did not send us to Washington to send their jobs overseas, and Congress will not be a rubber stamp for
TPP — another flawed ‘free’ trade deal. The USTR keeps citing to Congress increases in exports from past trade deals,
but fails to mention the larger increases in imports, exploding trade deficits and related job losses. When the full
picture and facts are viewed, it’s clear that our trade model is deeply flawed and that it is imperative that Congress
not go along with another job-killing trade agreement.”
– Slaughter is ranking member of the House Rules Committee and a member of the
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
ENDS