After months on end of ongoing debate about granting President Barack Obama and his administration trade promotion authority (TPA), all signs indicate that the commander in chief will be given that power in the weeks ahead, according to multiple reports.
Congressional leaders in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are reportedly close to closing on a bill to bring to the floor for a formal vote among the full body. If passed, TPA would grant Obama with special privileges to enact trade agreements with foreign countries.
"I'm optimistic that it's going to be concluded next week," Bill Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) said, according to The Wall Street Journal. NFTC has been a long-time advocate of TPA.
More informally known as fast track, TPA has been around for a long time, established in 1974. Once it's enacted, TPA remains the law of the land until the legislation expires, typically after a year.
The news comes at an ideal time for the Obama administration, which is in the midst of a trade deal involving 12 countries in Asia. The commander in chief devoted some of his State of the Union address to TPA, imploring Congress to pass a bill for him to sign in an effort to improve the United States' trade industry.
"I'm asking both parties to give me trade promotion authority to protect American workers, with strong new trade deals from Asia to Europe that aren't just free, but are also fair," Obama said during the Jan. 20 address to Congress and the nation. "It's the right thing to do."
Spring was initial projection for when TPA would be finalized
The seemingly imminent signing of TPA is ahead of what lawmakers had initially projected. Former vice-president nominee Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin told The Associated Press that TPA was likely to be completed by spring, putting the structure in place for a pan-Pacific trade deal involving a dozen countries. Ryan said that the House Ways and Means Committee, which he chairs, was "in the closing stages" of putting together a bill for Obama to sign.
Though TPA is a bi-partisan issue – both Republicans and Democrats are in favor of it, with some exceptions – it does have its detractors. Opponents to the legislation believe that it could put the U.S. at a disadvantage by making it more appealing for corporations to ship jobs overseas, where labor costs tend to be less expensive. Additionally, some say that it could give more power to business entities, providing everyday workers with fewer prerogatives. Last year, TPA was never passed, blocked by House members who didn't like what the package included.
Meanwhile, supporters of TPA say it does great things for the U.S. economy. According to statistics from the White House, TPA-related initiatives have supported 10 million jobs since 2012, a quarter of which are in the manufacturing sector. Export opportunities acted upon have added more than 1 million jobs since 2009.