House passes fast-track trade bill… again

On 18 June, six days after it passed a bill that effectively empowers the US president to conclude trade deals, including the Transatlantic Trade  and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the US House of Representatives did so again, in a 218-208 vote. This time supporters of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) separated the bill out from a Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) bill that helps workers who lose their jobs due to trade pacts. The Republicans backing TPA did this to try to get…