It is not just President Barack Obama’s trade agenda that hangs in the balance. The Senate’s rebuff to his request for a vote on the fast-track negotiating authority also casts doubt on his “pivot to Asia”. The White House downplayed the defeat as a “procedural snafu”. It insists common sense will prevail. But the goal of enacting Trade Promotion Authority — an essential step to wrapping up both the Pacific and transatlantic deals — is starting to look arduous.
前途未卜的不僅僅是美國總統巴拉克?奧巴馬(Barack Obama)的貿易議程。美國參議院拒絕奧巴馬就“快車道”(fast-track)談判授權舉行投票的請求,也給他的“重返亞洲”戰略罩上疑云。白宮將此次挫折淡化為“程序混亂”。白宮堅稱,常識將會占據上風。但獲得“貿易促進授權”(TPA)是締結跨太平洋和跨大西洋協定的關鍵一步,現在看起來實現這個目標有些困難。