House Democrats Call on Administration to Open Trade Talks
Request Access as Observers to Trans-PacificPartnership Negotiations
WASHINGTON, DC—Eight Democratic members of the House ofRepresentatives today called on the Obama Administration to open access andinclude them as observers at the 14th round of Trans-PacificPartnership (TPP) negotiations. The talks, starting September 6, willaddress issues of critical importance, including Buy American policies,financial regulation, access to lifesaving medicines in developing nations, andthe safety of imported food. In June, Representatives Rosa DeLauro andGeorge Miller leda group of more than 130 House members requesting greater consultationswith Congress and more transparency as TPP negotiations continue.
"Last month, we were among the 134 House members that wroteto urge you and your staff to engage in broader and deeper consultations withmembers of the full range of congressional committees whose jurisdiction isimplicated by the TPP's expansive scope," the members wrote. "We also requestedthat you continue past U.S. practice and release the draft TPP text, as a pastadministration did with respect to Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) drafttext in 2001. We have had neither a response to that letter nor offers ofenhanced consultations and access to draft text. Thus, so as to ensure thatthat there is ample opportunity for Congress to have a clear understanding ofand input on critical policies that will have broad ramifications for years tocome, we are requesting that you facilitate our ability to observe the TPPnegotiations directly."
The full letter is as follows:
August 28, 2012
The Honorable Ron Kirk
Office of the United States Trade Representative
600 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20508
Dear Ambassador Kirk:
We write to request access as observers to the 14th round ofTrans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations that will take place at theLansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Virginia from September 6-15, 2012.
We are aware that in the context of past important tradenegotiations, the Office of the United States Trade Representative hasaccommodated sizeable congressional delegations that have included Representativesand Senators from various committees. This included negotiations relating tothe Uruguay Round of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the launchof the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round and various North America FreeTrade Agreement (NAFTA) rounds.
Last month, we were among the 134 House members that wroteto urge you and your staff to engage in broader and deeper consultations withmembers of the full range of congressional committees whose jurisdiction isimplicated by the TPP's expansive scope. We also requested that you continuepast U.S. practice and release the draft TPP text, as a past administration didwith respect to Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) draft text in 2001.
We have had neither a response to that letter nor offers ofenhanced consultations and access to draft text. Thus, so as to ensure thatthat there is ample opportunity for Congress to have a clear understanding ofand input on critical policies that will have broad ramifications for years tocome, we are requesting that you facilitate our ability to observe the TPPnegotiations directly.
Each of us has previously taken leadership aimed atimproving consultations on various issues of interest to us and at stake withinthe context of the TPP negotiations. These include seeking to address concernsthat the agreement being negotiated may undermine Buy American procurementpolicies, place limits on robust financial regulation, provide extraordinarysubstantive and procedural rights to foreign investors, restrict access tolifesaving medicines in developing nations, and jeopardize the safety of importedfood, to name a few. We remain deeply concerned about these issues.
We request that your office contact our offices as soon aspossible to make logistical arrangements to accommodate us and certain membersof our staff to be present as observers to the various negotiating groupscovering our issues of concern. Thank you for your prompt consideration of thisrequest.
Sincerely,
ROSA L. DeLAURO
Member ofCongress
GEORGE MILLER
Member of Congress
JOHN CONYERS,JR.
Member of Congress
DONNA F. EDWARDS
Member of Congress
JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY
Member ofCongress
NICK J. RAHALL, II
Member of Congress
PETER A.DeFAZIO
Member of Congress
MARCYKAPTUR
Member of Congress