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U.S. Treasury Secretary urges Congress to pass trade promotion authority

Xinhua, March 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Tuesday urged Congress to act by adopting Trade Promotion Authority to facilitate the passage of relevant agreements, given the Obama Administration is pursuing a wide-range trade pact in Asia.

While addressing the SelectUSA Summit Tuesday, Lew said that Congress will likely take up the Trade Promotion Authority in the near future and stressed that passing the authority is vital to promote trade and increase "middle class security" in a changing global economy.

Trade Promotion Authority, also known as fast track, allows Congress to set negotiating priorities for the administration, while ensuring a deal struck overseas would get a congressional vote with no amendments or procedural delays. Fast track is popular with Republicans but has many Democratic critics.

The Secretary also urged Congress to re-authorize the Export- Import Bank, warning if Congress fails to act, it will hurt legions of small companies in the U.S. He again stressed the need to reform the American business tax system. Endite