Himes to vote for trade deal fast-track

Rep. Jim Himes will support President Obama on fast-track.

Rep. Jim Himes will support President Obama on fast-track.

Rep. Jim Himes said he will support President Obama’s bid for fast-track authority to negotiate a new trade deal, a controversial decision that puts the fourth-term lawmaker at odds with the progressive and labor union elements in Fairfield County.

As one of a handful of undecided House Democrats crucial to passage of fast-track _ Trade Promotion Authority or TPA _ Himes has been the object of intense White House lobbying. He met Obama twice at the White House with other congressional undecideds and spoke to the president one-on-one on the phone.

A vote in the House could take place as early as next week.

TPA would authorize the president to negotiate a trade deal, which would be subject only to an up-or-down vote in Congress with no possibility of amendments. The underlying trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP), would lower tariff walls between the U.S. and 11 Pacific-rim nations from Chile to Japan to Vietnam and Malaysia.

Himes said he decided to vote for TPA after reading a secret draft of the TTP available only to members of Congress.

“If TTP were truly stinky, I’d be less inclined to vote for TPA,’’ he said. But after reading it, Himes said he thought it offered substantial possibilities that pitfalls of previous trade agreements _ poor labor and environmental standards, and the draining of jobs to cheaper labor markets _ could be avoided.

“Critics say it won’t work, but we ought to at least consider the possibility that it might,’’ he said, noting that two-thirds of Connecticut’s $16.5 billion in exports comes from businesses in Fairfield County. “We ought to accept the uncertainty and see what the president can negotiate.’’

Himes said that while he was not committing himself to voting for TPP in its final form, the draft he read was a big improvement over previous trade deals like NAFTA in 1993. In NAFTA, signatories were obligated only to enforce their own nations’ labor and environmental standards. In the TPP draft, participants would be required to change laws to meet international standards.

Vietnam, for instance, would have to legalize now-banned independent labor unions, Himes said.

Local trade deal opponents said they were disappointed in Himes’ decision.

“I think this trade deal is less about trade than corporate power,’’ said Douglas Sutherland, head of the Fairfield County chapter of the progressive organization Democracy for America.

“Making it easier to get (TPP) passed by Congress means making it easier for corporations to export jobs out of the U.S., including Connecticut, to low wage countries with abysmal labor and environmental standards,’’ said John Harrity, president of the Connecticut State Council of Machinists.

Trade supporters praised Himes for supporting a process that benefits American businesses and workers alike.

“Pitney Bowes applauds Congressman Himes for his principled and courageous decision to support Trade Promotion Authority,’’ said Marc Lautenbach, CEO of Stamford-based business shipping and mailing giant .  “This is an issue where Democrats and Republicans should be able to agree as it benefits the overall economy.’’

Daniel Freedman