holbox-shutterstock-com-2
holbox / Shutterstock.com
26 May 2015Copyright

US Senate approves fast-tracked trade bill

The US Senate has voted in favour of the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill, which could pave the way for future trade agreements including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

By a margin of 25, the Senate voted 62-37 in favour of the bill.

In the vote, held on Friday (May 22), 14 members of the Democratic Party joined 48 Republican Party members to vote in favour.

Earlier this month (May 12), a proposal to fast track the TPA bill did not win enough support when put to the Senate,  falling eight votes short of the 60 needed to pass the proposal.

But two days later many Democrats switched their vote after the Senate agreed to hold votes on separate bills covering trade issues in Africa and a clampdown on currency manipulators.

The approval of the TPA bill means that provisions included in the TPP and another proposed agreement, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), could not be amended if they were brought before Congress.

Instead, Congress would only be able to vote for or against the provisions.

The TPP is a proposed trade agreement currently being negotiated by 12 nations—Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam—and aims to harmonise IP laws between the countries.

The TTIP is currently being negotiated between the US and the EU and includes an intention to “improve cooperation” on international standards in IP laws.

President Barack Obama welcomed the latest vote.

He said: “The bipartisan Senate vote is an important step toward ensuring the US can negotiate and enforce strong, high-standards trade agreements.”

But Harry Reid, a member of the Democrats who voted against the TPA bill, tweeted on Saturday (May 23): “This trade bill is a handout to multinational corporations and does nothing to help those who need it most.”

In another tweet on the same day, Reid said: “I just voted no on the fast-track trade bill. If there was an option to vote 'hell no', I would have done that.”

The bill will now head to the House of Representatives

Michael McManus, partner at Duane Morris, told WIPR that the bill is still set for a bumpy ride. He said: "There is some chance that the bill will fail at the House of Representatives as there is a faction of Republicans that will vote with the Democrats to oppose it.

"The TPP is generally supported by US. corporate interests as they hope to increase exports to the TPP countries. Further, the TPP will require adherence to TRIPS type rules with respect to foreign IP. This is perceived as a benefit to US based IP owners," he added.

Already registered?

Login to your account

To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.

Two Weeks Free Trial

For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk


More on this story

Copyright
15 May 2015   The US Senate has voted to fast-track a bill which may open the door for approving trade agreements including the Trans-Pacific Partnership , despite rejecting it three days ago.
Copyright
15 June 2015   The US House of Representatives has approved a trade bill but rejected a programme aimed at US workers, meaning the fast tracking of two proposed agreements covering intellectual property would be slowed down.