|
 Senator Orrin Hatch said he was prepared to work on a further
concession to bring the panel's top Democrat, Ron Wyden, on board,
but there was a limit to how far he could compromise on a bill seen
as key to finalizing a Pacific trade pact.
"We will probably have to wait until we get back, but if I can get
an agreement before, I will do it," Hatch told reporters. Congress
goes on a two-week recess at the end of the week.
"I will do my very best to come up with something between now and
when we get back, but if he doesn't do it, that would be very
unfortunate, but we are going to have to go ahead," Hatch said.
 Talks on the bill, which would restrict Congress to a yes-or-no vote
on trade deals in exchange for setting negotiating objectives, have
been held up over Wyden's calls for more transparency and greater
congressional involvement, which may help muster support among
Democrats wary of trade deals.
Hatch has said he will not consider a mechanism that would allow
lawmakers to strip a bill of its fast-track status if it were deemed
not to fulfill negotiating objectives adequately.
[to top of second column] |
The impasse is frustrating trading partners. New Zealand Trade
Minister Tim Groser, who visited Washington last week, said Congress
had to pass the legislation before negotiators could complete the
12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, which many had hoped to wrap up
early this year.
Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari said it would be difficult to
reach a U.S.-Japan agreement, a key stepping stone to the wider
deal, without trade promotion authority legislation.
(Reporting by Krista Hughes; Editing by Sandra Maler, Peter Cooney
and Ken Wills)
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