Lawmakers Want Open Trans-Pacific Trade Talks

By CnAgri2012-06-28 19:56:17 Print

A California congressman at the center of a legal battle with the White House on Wednesday asked U.S. trade officials to let him sit in on negotiations in San Diego next week between the United States and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Given the immense impact that this agreement will have on many areas of the American economy, including intellectual property, I respectfully request that you allow me and certain members of my staff to be present as observers for this round of negotiations," Republican lawmaker Darrell Issa said in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.

According to Reuters, the unusual request to join the San Diego talks on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership pact, and a separate letter on Wednesday from about 130 congressional Democrats, reflect the anxiety many lawmakers are feeling about trade agreements, even though Congress last year overwhelmingly approved three such pacts--with South Korea, Colombia and Panama.

There was no immediate comment from the U.S. Trade Representative's office regarding Issa's request.

The U.S. government is hosting the 13th round of negotiations in July on the TPP, which would create a regional free trade zone including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Chile, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei.

Those nine countries recently invited Mexico and Canada to join the talks, which are unlikely to reach an agreement before the first part of next year, Reuters reports.

The roughly 130 Democratic lawmakers, in their letter, urged U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to release draft texts under negotiation and "to engage in broader and deeper consultations" with members of Congress on U.S. laws and regulations they said be could be affected by the pact.