Retailers urge Congress to extend fast-track...
February 12, 2007
12 February 2007
Retailers urge Congress to extend fast-track authority
This article is extracted from the 12 February 2007 edition of “The Journal of Commerce”.
The National Retail Federation… urged Congress to approve legislation renewing presidential Trade Promotion Authority, saying it is essential to the United States’ participation in the World Trade Organization’s Doha Round of trade negotiations.
“Negotiators are now getting back to work on the Doha Round talks, but there’s no guarantee that work will be finished by the time TPA expires this summer,” NRF Vice President and International Trade Counsel Erik Autor said in a statement. “TPA is essential to ensure that…[P]resident [Bush] can work with Congress in setting objectives and negotiating trade agreements without those agreements being picked apart during the legislative process. No country will agree to negotiate a trade agreement with the United States only to undertake a second negotiation with 535 members of Congress. …
“Retailers’ ability to conduct commerce free of trade barriers is essential not only to the health and growth of our industry but the ability of consumers to buy the products they need at prices they can afford,” Autor said….