The Trans-Pacific Partnership Is Making for Strange Political Bedfellows
A man cycles past the CSCK Indian Ocean container ship, operated by China Shipping Container Lines Co., during loading operations at the Eurogate GmbH & Co. KGaA KG shipping terminal at Hamburg port in Hamburg, Germany, on Tuesday, June 2, 2015.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/BloombergIn a case of strange bedfellows, many Republican presidential hopefuls are allying with President Barack Obama on his major trade initiative. Stranger yet, some Republican contenders are attacking Hillary Clinton for not supporting the president.
The trade pact, called the Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP, is still being negotiated between the Obama administration and about a dozen countries, and is strongly supported by Republican leaders. Approval requires two stages—first Congress must pass a vehicle, called Trade Promotion Authority or TPA, which then allows Congress to have a final up-or-down vote (no amendments, no filibusters) on the deal the president ultimately negotiates.