A coalition of 269 agriculture and business organizations and companies sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee stating their strong support for the Trade Promotion Authority legislation, “Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015.” The Trade Benefits America Coalition asked Senators to support “U.S. businesses, farmers and workers – as well as the global competitiveness of the U.S. economy by passing the bill as soon as possible.”
Unions are strongly opposed to TPA saying that it will cost the economy, increase job loss and only big corporations win. In a letter signed by more than 60 unions earlier this year, the unions said, “Fast track trade deals mean fewer jobs, lower wages and a declining middle class. Fast track has been used since the Nixon administration to advance deals, like NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), that are sold to the American people as job creation measures. But these deals, written largely by and for the world’s largest corporations, don’t create jobs: their main purpose isn’t even related to trade, it’s to enshrine rules that make it easier for firms to invest offshore and increase corporate influence over the global economy.”
