Obama Signs Trade Promotion Authority for 3+3 years, TPP Stars Rise

US President Barack Obama signed Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) into law, putting an end to the months-long drama in Washington over the controversial legislation’s fate. The focus has now turned to the potential timeline for wrapping up the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks.

The US President also signed into law a separate piece of legislation renewing both a support scheme for domestic workers displaced by trade, as well as various US preference programmes, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).

Since the news of TPA’s passage, Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari has been among those to suggest that ministers from the 12 TPP countries could meet as early as this month to reach a broad deal.

Some TPP officials, such as Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb, have suggested that the 12-country trade talks could be wrapped up in a week once TPA is in place in the US.

US Trade Representative Michael Froman suggested at a Politico-hosted event on Wednesday that a deal could be ready in time for Congress to ratify it this year. That would require a quick conclusion of the talks, given requirements under the new TPA legislation regarding how long the completed text must be public before Obama signs it and submits it to Congress for ratification.