“There’s support in the House and the Senate for all three of these agreements,” he said. “We’ve provided a path forward for the president to be able to have a victory himself by sending these agreements forward. It’s time to do it. It’s past time to do it.”
What is abundantly clear is that the problem in getting the trade deals to Capitol Hill lies with the Republican-led House.
Although there’s general agreement among the White House and House Republicans that the trade deals, along with Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), should be passed, the two sides haven’t reached an agreement.
The Obama administration is seeking a guarantee that the House can pass TAA, its top demand to send up the trade deals.
“We’re going to work to see that the negotiated TAA bill passes in a way that’s acceptable to the White House,” Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) told reporters Wednesday.
More than six weeks ago, Blunt (R-Mo.) and Rob Portman (Ohio) said they had the votes needed to push TAA through the Senate, hoping to shake the trade deals loose for votes.
The process could begin progressing on Wednesday night once the House passes the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, which expired in December. The bill would then move to the Senate and be used as a vehicle for TAA. That combined TAA-GSP bill would then be sent back to the House for a final vote that could run in tandem with the three trade deals.
“Well, I don’t think anybody’s opposed to the GSP bill, or at least I don’t know of anybody that is,” Blunt said. “So attaching TAA to GSP makes no real impact on our commitment. “
That’s where the uncertainty remains.
House leaders and the Obama administration are still working out a process guaranteeing passage of the GSP-TAA, so the White House will send the trade accords to Capitol Hill.
“Our leaders have agreed on a way forward,” said Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.). “Now, in about 24 hours, the president is going to talk to us about creating jobs. There is one simple, straightforward way to get this started, and that’s to announce that the agreements are going to be sent up this week,” he said.
The GSP program provides trade preferences to more than 130 countries and would allow importers to apply for refunds on duties they paid since the program expired, according to the bill.
The bill retroactively restores GSP benefits to Jan. 1 and extends the program until July 30, 2013.
“The bottom line is let’s pass these three trade agreements, and once they are passed, let’s move forward with an aggressive trade agenda that opens markets to U.S. markets, creating jobs and growing our economy,” said Senate Finance ranking member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).
The bill covers the cost of about $1.5 billion in losses in tariff revenues, by raising the merchandise processing fees, a customs user fee, from 0.21 percent to 0.34 percent starting on Oct. 1 and ending June 30, 2014.
The fee hasn’t been increased since 1994, while costs have risen, according to Ways and Means Republicans.
Many U.S. companies use raw materials from GSP countries, and the duty-free treatment reduces production costs for those businesses.
About 82,000 jobs are either directly or indirectly associated with the importation and use of GSP-eligible imports, according to analysis by the Coalition for GSP.