Setback on trade expansion is disappointing, illogical

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment on the House of Representatives' votes on Trade Adjustment Assistance and Trade Promotion Authority.  The House voted in favor of Trade Promotion Authority and against Trade Adjustment Assistance.  Procedurally, the provisions were linked, so Trade Promotion Authority did not advance.  The Senate passed both provisions earlier this year.

"This is a bad day for those of us who care about creating new opportunities for American workers through trade expansion.  The Democrats' logic in killing a program they created and have 'stood by for four decades,' as The New York Times put it, is hard to see.  New markets are coming, whether Trade Promotion Authority comes or not.  Iowa is an exporting state, like a lot of others.  Our farmers and businesses are looking for new export markets all the time.  Trade Promotion Authority is just the process that makes it easier to enter new trade agreements and gain better access to consumers around the world.  Maintaining the status quo doesn't help anybody.  The House Democrats say they want a better deal for America's workers, but right now, there's no deal.  The President needs to be more persuasive with his fellow Democrats if he wants trade expansion as one of his achievements."