The TPP Ambassador’s “Accident”

by Crista Huff

 

Late on the afternoon of August 1, 2016, U.S. Trade Online reported that U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman had a “bike accident”. It was a very short article, and other than the words “due to a bike accident”, the article was entirely devoted to the international meetings that Ambassador Froman would miss this week, and the name of the person assigned to take his place.

An internet search reveals no additional news stories about the bike accident. The lack of news coverage is odd, because when high-ranking U.S. legislators and diplomats have disruptive health events take place, that kind of thing is considered newsworthy. Even if the diplomat were not well-known, one would expect a variety of political media to cover the news.

Ambassador Froman is a key figure in the negotiation and potential ratification of the beleaguered Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. Eleven partner countries are waiting for the U.S. Congress to ratifiy the TPP, while POTUS candidates and the general citizenry cry “foul” on both the TPP, and the questionable economic track record of past trade agreements.

There are currently three most-often mentioned problems and conflicts impacting the TPP ratification vote:

1. The U.S. tobacco industry has been carved out of the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) within the TPP. (Read more in “Sen. Tim Kaine Opposes the TPP Because IT’S NOT BAD ENOUGH”, July 27, 2016.)

2. The U.S. pharmaceutical industry is faced with reducing their number of years of biologic patent exclusivity under the TPP. (Read more in “How the PRICED Act Delivers TPP Ratification (the Bullet Point Version)”, July 11, 2016.)

3. Will the TPP ratification vote take place during a lame duck session of Congress in late 2016, or will it take place in 2017 under a new president? The TPP was meant to be President Obama’s legacy legislation, and it’s hard to imagine that he will let the vote slide into 2017. But many members of Congress are speaking out against a lame duck vote, most recently including House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson (D-MN).

What happened to Ambassador Froman? Why is there no news coverage of his bike accident? How will his absence from the USTR office affect the handling of the ratification vote?

The TPP is the biggest trade agreement in the history of the world, and its most important global representative has been suddenly and quietly sidelined. President Obama, the ball’s in your court.

 

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Crista Huff is a stock market expert and a conservative political activist. She works with End Global Governance and issues groups to defeat the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. Send questions and comments to research@goodfellowllc.com.