"Fast Track" Trade Promotion Authority

“Fast track” is the authority granted by Congress to the Administration to negotiate trade agreements that cannot be amended by Congress and only voted on as negotiated. Fast track, formally known as Trade Promotion Authority, expired at the end of June 2007.  No new trade agreements are expected to be negotiated until "fast track" is reauthorized but Congress can still consider those trade agreements that have already been negotiated and signed by the Bush Administration but not yet voted on. These include agreements with Panama and Colombia.  An agreement with Peru was approved by Congress in late 2007.

Eventual Congressional consideration of renewal of “fast track” will represent a critical deliberation on globalization because it will set the rules for future trade agreements. USLEAP is opposed to renewal of “fast track” without dramatic changes that would represent a fundamentally new approach to rules for global trade and globalization. USLEAP believes that trade rules must include effective enforcement of protections for workers, the environment, farmers, and consumers.  A May 2007 Trade Deal (see below) takes a significant step on improving protections for workers but does not go far enough and does not represent a fundamentally new approach to global trade.

Passage of "fast track" legislation in the 2002 led to a strong push by the Bush Administration to negotiate new trade agreements around the world, including the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Colombia, Panama, and Peru (which was passed in late 2007).

The workers rights protections in CAFTA and NAFTA were a huge step back from those that applied under pre-existing U.S. trade programs. Standards are higher and sanctions are more severe under current U.S. trade programs that continue to govern trade policy for countries with whom the U.S. does not have a Free Trade Agreement. Approval of trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA have virtually wiped out what has been the ability to use U.S. trade policy as a source of leverage for respecting worker rights in Mexico, Central America, and the Dominican Republic.

May 2007 Trade Deal

In May 2007, House Democrats and the Bush Administration agreed that worker rights provisions in pending trade agreements would need to be strengthened before Congress would be asked to vote. The text of the agreement was released in June, and applies to the Peru and Panama agreements. (The Colombia agreement is being treated as a special case.)
Some unions, including the AFL-CIO, praised the agreement as a significant step towards protecting worker rights but questioned whether the Bush Administration would enforce the protections and argued that the agreement is inadequate in providing protections for the environment, consumers and farmers. The AFL-CIO, Change to Win, and other unions agree that the May 2007 template must be further strengthened in any future, yet-to-be-negotiated trade agreements that come after the current round.