Ryan opposes giving president authority to negotiate trade deal without Congress

By David Skolnick | February 24, 2015 at 12:05a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan said he opposes giving President Barack Obama, a fellow Democrat, the authority to negotiate a trade agreement without the input of members of Congress because previous trade deals have hurt the national economy.

“We’ve been down this road before,” said Ryan, of Howland, D-13th, during a Monday news conference at the Youngstown Business Incubator. “We’ve been told these trade agreements, the way they are currently written, are going to create jobs in the United States. Our experience is otherwise.”

Ryan specifically pointed to the North American Free Trade Agreement among the United States, Canada and Mexico, which went into effect in 1994. He said the U.S.’ net job loss from NAFTA is 700,000.

Obama wants his administration to have the authority to “fast track” a trade agreement called the Trans Pacific Partnership, which removes tariffs on goods and services and reduces regulations among 12 counties, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan and Australia.

Fast-tracking would give the administration sole power to negotiate the deal and “bring it to Congress for an up or down vote without us having the ability to amend the trade deal,” Ryan said.

A majority of Democrats in the U.S. House oppose giving Obama the authority, “plus Republicans wouldn’t want to give [Obama] anything,” Ryan said.

Ryan added that “this shifts way too much power to the executive branch.”