Utah Gov. Gary Herbert is calling on Congress to approve Trade Promotion Authority, also called "fast-track," for the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. Herbert and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper sent a letter to Congress stressing that the TPP could boost their states' economies. However, they may be in the minority.
Dale Cox, president of the Utah AFL-CIO, said fast-track would give President Obama the power to negotiate the massive trade deal between the U.S. and eleven other nations, while restricting Congress' ability to modify it.
"The fast-track bypasses Congress," Cox said. "When the trade deal is negotiated, it's done in secret. Nobody knows what's in it, and the Congress can either vote 'yes' or 'no' - they can't make additions, deletions."
The House is preparing to vote on the fast-track proposal, which the Senate already passed. There are reports that earlier this month, several groups presented Congress with petitions containing about two-million signatures opposing fast-track.
In his letter to Congress, Herbert said a billion dollars in U.S. exports supports five-thousand jobs in America. However, Cox said previous international trade agreements have a history of killing jobs.
"My reaction to the governor is, 'I hope those 5,000 jobs materialize,'" Cox said. "But, as with past trade agreements, it seems more jobs go offshore than come to American citizens.'"
Cox believes the major problem with the TPP remains that the 1,200-page bill, involving 40 percent of the global economy, has been negotiated in secret, and very little is known about the details.