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Senate Democrats block Obama on fast-track trade legislation

Xinhua, May 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a bill to give President Barack Obama fast-track power to conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations.

The vote was 52-45, short of the 60 votes needed for the passage of the trade promotion authority (TPA) in a procedural vote as some Democrats demanded more worker protections before they approve the bill.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the major pusher for the TPA, said after the vote that the result is "pretty shocking".

TPA, also known as the fast-track legislation, empowers the president to negotiate trade deals and then present them to Congress for up-or-down votes, with no amendments allowed, a key step to conclude the TPP negotiations.

Tuesday's vote will not be the last word for the TPA but it adds more uncertainties for the bill as the U.S. Congress will have a recess from May 25 to 29 for Memorial Day and its opponents may generate more opposition during that period.

"Blocking the Senate from debating such an important issue is not the answer. I hope some across the aisle will rethink their choice," said McConnell in his twitter.

Analysts still believe a majority of senators will support to give the TPA to President Obama to conclude the TPP negotiations and McConnell will regroup the supporting effort to pass the bill in the future. Endite