[Ip-health] Congress Daily on possible partial fasttrack extension for Doha

[Mike Palmedo]

Rangel: Dems Will Consider PTNA Extension For Doha Round

April 18, 2007
Martin Vaughan
Nat. Journal's Congress Daily

     House Ways and Means Chairman Rangel said Tuesday that Democrats
will consider granting a renewal of President Bush's trade negotiating
authority if that authority is limited to a possible global trade deal
in the Doha round of negotiations.

     But he implied that even that limited authority would have to be
re-written to reflect Democratic priorities on issues such as access to
medicines and foreign investment.

     "We are prepared to give a restricted fast-track, limited to the
Doha convention," Rangel said in response to a question after a speech
at the National Press Club Tuesday.

     He told reporters after the speech that he did not know how long a
period would be required for such an extension, and that it is up to the
administration to ask for an extension, which it has not yet done.

     Rangel said he continues to seek a bipartisan agreement with the
administration and Ways and Means ranking member Jim McCrery, R-La., on
re-writing the terms of trade agreements in a number of areas. He said
the new terms would need to be agreed to even for a limited fast-track
to take effect.

     But Rangel said he did not know whether a deal on contentious labor
issues would be a prerequisite for the fast-track extension, since labor
provisions are not part of the Doha negotiations.

     He said Republican objections to the Democratic demand to
incorporate International Labor Organization standards into bilateral
trade deals continue to stymie progress in those talks. "It doesn't make
any sense -- but that's what is holding it up," Rangel said.

     Rangel said that objection came specifically from Senate Finance
ranking member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, although he later clarified
that Grassley was not the only Republican raising the scenario that U.S.
labor laws could be subject to challenge if ILO standards are included.
"But he was the only one that I talked to in terms of trying to get his
help on this, and I called the wrong guy," Rangel said.    By Martin Vaughan




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Mike Palmedo
Research Coordinator
Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property
American University, Washington College of Law
4910 Massachutsetts Ave., NW Washington, DC 20016
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mpalmedo@wcl.american.edu