Obama pushes for trade authority in weekly address

President Obama pressed for powers to fast-track trade deals in his weekly address on Saturday, as he tries to win over skeptical congressional Democrats. 

“As we speak, China is trying to write the rules for trade in the 21st century,” Obama said. “That would put our workers and our businesses at a massive disadvantage. We can’t let that happen. We should write those rules.”

{mosads}The administration is pushing for Congress to pass trade promotion authority, which smoothes the way for trade deals by preventing lawmakers from amending them.

The move would help clear the way for important trade deals with Asia and Europe, the White House says. But some congressional Democrats are worried about the effect on American workers. 

Obama sought to address concerns about past trade deals. The North American Free Trade Agreement, signed by President Bill Clinton, has been particularly controversial. 

“Now, I’m the first to admit that past trade deals haven’t always lived up to the hype,” Obama said. “And that’s why we’ve successfully gone after countries that break the rules at our workers’ expense. 

“But that doesn’t mean we should close ourselves off from new opportunities, and sit on the sidelines while other countries write our future for us,” the president added.

While Obama is reaching out to Democrats on trade—meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus last week—the White House maintains that it has no problem with the bill passing with only Republican support. 

“What we seek is a majority in the House,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said last month. “And whether that’s all Republicans, or a bunch of Republicans and a small number of Democrats, is frankly not something we’re particularly concerned about.

“We just want to see this piece of legislation pass.”