On Thursday, the National Retail Federation (NRF) issued a statement from Senior Vice President for Government Relations David French on the passage of a stand-alone Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill, which will provide Congress with new oversight responsibilities over pending and future trade agreements.
“Today’s vote on trade promotion authority will grant Congress new powers and responsibilities to craft and monitor our 21st century trade policy, and aid our trade representatives as they work to negotiate pending and future trade agreements, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership,” says French.
French urged the Senate to quickly consider the stand-alone TPA bill so it can move to the president’s desk for his signature.
Recently, the NRF also welcomed legislation that would amend the federal Taft-Hartley Act to allow governors to intervene in port labor disputes rather than being required to ask the White House to do so.
The Protecting Orderly and Responsible Transit of Shipments Act (PORTS) was introduced by Senator Cory Gardner, R-Colo., a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. The bill would grant states new powers under Taft-Hartley so governors could examine the economic harm of port disruptions and petition federal courts to intervene.
Under current law, that request could only come from the president.
