Obama Signs Fast-Track Trade Authority Bill | Practical Law

Obama Signs Fast-Track Trade Authority Bill | Practical Law

President Obama has signed into law the Trade Act of 2015 (Trade Act). This legislation includes Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), also referred to as fast-track authority, which allows the Executive Branch to pass free-trade agreements more quickly by side-stepping many Congresional checks on executive power.

Obama Signs Fast-Track Trade Authority Bill

Practical Law Legal Update 0-616-9691 (Approx. 3 pages)

Obama Signs Fast-Track Trade Authority Bill

by Practical Law Commercial
Published on 01 Jul 2015 • USA (National/Federal)
President Obama has signed into law the Trade Act of 2015 (Trade Act). This legislation includes Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), also referred to as fast-track authority, which allows the Executive Branch to pass free-trade agreements more quickly by side-stepping many Congresional checks on executive power.
On June 29, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Trade Act of 2015 (Trade Act). This legislation includes Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), also referred to as fast-track authority, which allows the Executive Branch to pass free-trade agreements more quickly by side-stepping many Congressional checks on executive power.

Trade Act of 2015

The Trade Act's fast-track authority provides for a quicker procedure for completing free-trade agreements. It allows the President to gain leverage in international trade negotiations by committing Congress to approve free trade agreements with limited recourse.
Under the Trade Act, at the end of the negotiation and consultation process, Congress:
  • Gives a strict up-or-down vote on the free trade agreement.
  • Cannot:
    • filibuster a trade agreement; or
    • amend the final text of a trade agreement.
The Trade Act provides a detailed list of objectives the President is expected to negotiate while pursuing such agreements. It also includes several new transparency and reporting requirements intended to ensure Congressional oversight during the negotiation process and a mechanism for rescinding fast-track procedures if the President fails to meet his TPA obligations.
The Trade Act and TPA procedures apply to any:
  • New trade initiatives.
  • Currently negotiated trade initiatives, including:
    • the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP);
    • the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP);
    • the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA); and
    • the Environmental Goods Agreement.
TPA has been enacted periodically over the past thirty years and last expired in 2007, although it continued to apply to agreements already under negotiation until they were eventually enacted as laws in 2011.
For more information on international trade, see our International Trade Toolkit.