A contentious trade bill passed the U.S. Senate on Wednesday and is headed to the president’s desk. The Senate voted 60-38 to renew Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), which gives trade deals a “fast track” through Congress where lawmakers would only get an up-or-down vote without being able to add amendments. TPA passed the House in a stand-alone bill last week by a 218-208 vote. Most Democrats in both chambers opposed TPA because of concerns about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) currently under negotiation, while Republican lawmakers sided with President Obama. Critics such as Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) argue that TPP will lower wages and send American jobs overseas, and that TPA means Congress can’t prevent that without voting against the entire deal. They also say it could impact other realms such as finance, energy and food safety. Some food safety advocates are concerned TPP will result in the “harmonization” of food processing standards in different countries so that they’re deemed equivalent, even though one country might actually have higher standards than another.
Lydia Zuraw is a graduate of Northwestern University with a bachelor's from the Medill School of Journalism. She was born and raised in the suburbs of Baltimore and lived in Illinois, Scotland and Washington state before returning to the East Coast.
The Food and Drug Administration uses import alerts to enforce U.S. food safety regulations for food from foreign countries. The agency updates and modifies the alerts as needed.
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