The U.S.’s Faltering Commitment to Liberal Trade
The Biden administration’s lack of interest in fast-track authority is telling.
The U.S. trade representative is concentrating on a “more inclusive, worker-centric trade policy.”
Photographer: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images
Last week, President Joe Biden lost his ability to conclude international trade agreements without the close involvement of Congress. You might wonder, so what? In practical terms, the end of his Trade Promotion Authority makes no difference. It isn’t as though Biden had been trying to get his fast-track dispensation renewed, and he’s shown no ambition to forge big new trade-promoting agreements in any event.
All true. Yet the unlamented expiration of TPA is still worth noting. It marks one more step away from America’s longtime commitment to liberal trade.