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00:00It is a critical moment for President Obama's trade agenda. The Republican controlled Congress moving closer to granting the president fast track trade authority which would make it easier for him to cut trade deals with the Pacific Rim and Europe. The lawmaker leading the charge in the house one time rival and frequent critic House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan. Well he is standing by on the Hill with our chief Washington correspondent Peter Cook. Peter thanks very much. I am joined by Chairman Ryan who's done a lot of battle with President Obama over the years. But on this issue trade you all are effectively shoulder to shoulder . That's right. We agree. I think he's going in the right direction with these trade agreement negotiations with Asia and Europe. We just rolled out trade promotion authority which is a bipartisan bill we're moving through the House and the Senate committees this week. We think it's absolutely essential necessary to get good trade agreements. That's why we're doing this. All right what's your message to Republicans on fast track authority in particular this legislation that you will have battled the president again about taking presidential power that in some way you're ceding ground to this president cause I've heard that complaint from some right. So the contrary . That's why we wrote this version of trade promotion authority if you take a look the editorial I have with Ted Cruz in the Wall Street Journal today we spelled out very clearly we are basically making sure that Congress asserts itself in its jurisdiction its prerogatives. Early on in the process. So what this trade promotion authority basically says is to the administration here all the negotiating objectives you have to meet here the transparency requirements the public has to be able to see this. This trade agreement as well before it's considered. And then if you don't meet these requirements then Congress can turn it off if we choose to do so. And at the end of the day because of the Constitution is very clear Congress has the final say on these things. So this traditional this is not the truth for trade promotion authority. This is a search . Congress has jurisdiction. Gets Congress involved early on in the process so that we can have a better outcome. There's nothing stopping a president from going out and negotiating a trade agreement his property it on Congress's desk. But we don't get a good trade agreement if you do that. And by offering this up or down vote with this transparent process with congressional negotiating objectives at the front end of this we think we'll get a better outcome. And we think we'll get we'll get a better outcome from our trader partners as well. Are you going to get support from Republicans in the House and Democrats . What's the vote you're going to you know pass this in the house without any doubt. No I think we'll pass this as well but there will be bipartisan and the president clearly has to deliver votes from his party how many Democrats. I don't know the answer to that. This is the house. Things move around quite a bit but I don't think the House Democrats are going to let the president fail in one of his signature achievements and goals for his presidency. Look here's the deal on trade. If you're standing still and not getting agreements you're actually falling behind because all these other countries are going around the world getting better trade agreements for their workers for their manufacturers. So we've got to get in this game. You know when you add up all the countries we have trade agreements with we have a surplus when you add up the countries we don't have trade agreements with. We have a deficit. So this is about leveling the playing field. It's about making things fair for American workers and job creators . And that's why it's essential. That's why it's bipartisan to get a good trade agreement. It's not just Democrats with concerns there a lot of Americans out there who see NAFTA and they don't feel at the end of the day it was in the best interests of American workers. What's your message to a factory worker in your home state of Wisconsin who's worried that for example the trans-Pacific townhall they could lose their job. I did town hall meetings on this issue last week. This trade agreement with this trade promotion authority and these trade agreements are about raising the standards bringing other countries to American standards not lowering our standards to other countries. But you can't guarantee them that they're not to lose their job. You can't in Congress guarantee how the economy is going to work. But we can guarantee that is going to work better if we open up markets to our products. If we bring standards up to American standards here's the deal on the global economy today we are in the 21st century. We aren't a global economy and the rules are being written on this global economy today. So the question is who's going to write the rules. Is it gonna be China or is gonna be America and our allies. And I would argue very strongly if we don't get engaged and if we don't get involved and write the rules of the global economy they're going to be written by China and that's not going to be in the interest of the American worker. And that's why this is important get this done. And you're confident these deals will raise American wages because of course that's been great for me because look at how to do that one in five jobs in America is tied to trade and trade jobs on average pay 16 percent higher than other jobs. So it's very very important in this global economy that we get better jobs for workers that we level the playing field open up new customers. And here's the other deal . If a multinational company wants to sell into a foreign market in many cases because of trade barriers it's a manufacturer in that market in order to sell in that market with a trade agreement by lowering those barriers you can keep your manufacturing at home in Wisconsin in America and send your products overseas. That's why we need trade agreements. That's why we're trying to do this so we can keep good jobs in America and get higher wages because trade based jobs typically pay more in one in five jobs in America is already tied to trade . There's some Democrats who say they might be onboard this trade promotion authority in these trade deals if there was language in here dealing with the currency issue going after China other countries for manipulating what there is there is language on currency in this union enforceable as well I think the enforceable language is steps overall line where you'll actually kill trade agreements because you will not get a trade agreement . If a country thinks that we can just have retaliatory tariffs because of the desk domestic monetary policy and by the way that could come back to haunt us too. So that is the world's reserve currency. I don't think that I think it'd be a mistake. And I think the treasury secretary has helped us figure out the right kind of balance in the right kind of language to raise this very legitimate issue but not raise it in such a way that it blows up in our face comes back to haunt us or kills any chance of getting trade agreement would it help your effort if Hillary Clinton came out in favor of this guy. I want everybody come on favorite list I want anybody who cares about more jobs higher wages getting America to lead in the global economy to be in favor of this because that's what this is all about. You've given the president pretty high marks for his effort in engaging on this. Could this translate into cooperation on other fronts . You all share the point that of course for taxes. Could we see perhaps more effort. We're working on on tax reform issues we're working on trying to figure out how to rewrite the boy you making any progress with this network we're still early on in that right now. We're still doing a lot of our own research here in the house about about tax policy right now we're working on trade. This is something we agree on. It's bipartisan. We don't often agree on things. So I think in this case when you have Republicans and Democrats agreeing that this is the right thing for the American worker for job creators I think that's pretty good. I think we should move on fast track authority in the president's hand by the time Prime Minister Abbott gets here later on this month. I don't. That's a little aggressive. He comes next week I think so 20 yeah. Yeah we're doing this . That's a that's that's a little too fast. We're marking up the bill in ways he means tomorrow the Senate Finance Committee is marking up today the Senate can't can't move that fast. I got to sneak in a 2016 question on you. I know you're not taking anyone because you you're in a position with the party that you can't do that but you look at the race right now 20 people or so 18 19 candidates. Any regrets that you didn't jump in. No I don't actually. No they're very high quality cap candidates high caliber people running for president. I don't have regrets . Look I thought because of my opportunity as chairman of the ways and means committee and with a young family I can make a huge difference for the country I can make a big difference for for the people I represent and I can be home on weekends. And so for me it's the right thing for my family for my decision . And we have good quality people running for president that makes me feel satisfied. It gives you more of a chance to see more Brewer games and a PAC or CAC Taylor Riggs right. All right Chairman Wright thanks very much for joining us here on Bloomberg .

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Rep. Ryan: No Regrets for Not Running for President

U.S. Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, talks about bipartisan legislation to give the president what's known as “fast-track” trade promotion authority to negotiate deals and its likely impact on U.S. jobs and wages. Ryan speaks with Peter Cook on Bloomberg Television's "In the Loop."

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