Senator Sherrod Brown Blocks Trade Nominee over TPP Secrecy

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) just went toe-to-toe with the White House – and refused to blink.

Last week, the senator warned the administration that he would block the confirmation of a cabinet-level nominee if it didn't loosen up the secrecy protocols making it difficult for lawmakers and their staffs to review the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. Brown asked that credentialed policy advisors be allowed full access to the draft language without a congressional chaperone. But after his Friday deadline came and went, Brown was forced to place a "hold" on the president's deputy U.S. trade representative nominee, Marisa Lago.

"The administration would rather sacrifice a nominee for a key post than improve transparency of the largest trade agreement ever negotiated," Brown said. "This deal could affect more than 40 percent of our global economy, but even seasoned policy advisers with the requisite security clearance can't review text without being accompanied by a member of Congress. It shouldn't be easier for multinational corporations to get their hands on trade text than for public servants looking out for American workers and American manufacturers."

Meanwhile, TPP negotiations continue as the 12 participating nations repeatedly fail to close the deal. Poorer countries that rely on low-cost generic medicines are objecting to the United States' push for 12 years of patent protection on pharmaceutical drugs. Japan is so far refusing American demands to tear down agriculture and auto trade barriers. Canada doesn't want to open its dairy market to more imports.

And, most importantly, Mexico, Vietnam and Malaysia still haven't made any progress in addressing labor and human rights abuses. The United States' removal of Malaysia from the list of the worst human trafficking offenders didn't sway many critics who saw through this blatant ploy to accelerate TPP talks.

Working families know from past trade deals that the promises of higher standards are rarely upheld or enforced. The TPP isn't any different.