President Barack Obama yesterday moved closer to winning the power to speed trade deals through the US Congress when the Senate advanced legislation important to his Asian trade push.

Senators voted 62-38 to set up a speedy decision on the ‘fast-track’ trade negotiating authority the president needs to complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) trade deal.

The TPPA is part of Obama’s so-called pivot to Asia, a strategy to counter China’s rising economic and diplomatic clout in Asia.

Obama called the vote “a big step forward”, adding that his trade agenda dovetails with the “strong labour standards, strong environmental standards” that his fellow Democrats in Congress are demanding.

Thirteen of 44 Democrats backed the legislation in the Senate’s second procedural vote. Some supported moving ahead with fast-track after Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, assured them he would set a vote next month on a bill to renew the Export-Import Bank’s charter, according to leading Democratic senators. The charter is due to expire at the end of June.

They were joined by 49 of 54 Republicans, giving supporters of the legislation more than the 60 votes needed to proceed in the 100-member Senate.

With some of the Senate’s arcane procedural underbrush cleared away, senators tried to focus on amendments to the bill - some of them contentious - and there could be yet another procedural vote requiring 60 supporters.

Senate leaders spent much of yesterday seeking agreement on which amendments to the bill would be considered on the bill that McConnell was aiming to pass by week’s end, with only a simple majority needed to pass it.

Under fast-track, Congress can approve or reject trade deals such as the TPPA, with 11 other countries ranging from Japan to Chile, but not amend their contents.

But the path is not clear yet. Amendments could include controversial sanctions on trading partners that manipulate their currencies, a move opposed by the partners.

The White House has said it will veto the bill if lawmakers insist on penalties. It instead prefers a diplomatic approach to dissuade countries from deliberately weakening their currencies to make exports cheaper.

The TPPA, which is near completion after more than five years of negotiations, would create a free trade zone covering 40 percent of the world economy. Trading partners have said they want to see fast-track enacted before finalising the pact, a goal the administration has set for this year.

Even tougher fight expected in House

The bill must also pass the House of Representatives, where an even tougher fight is expected. Some conservatives oppose giving the White House more power, and many of Obama’s Democrats worry about the impact on jobs and the environment.

Obama has campaigned aggressively for fast-track over objections from the left wing of the Democratic Party, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, the influential liberal from Massachusetts.

Warren is pushing an amendment to take away fast-track authority for any TPPA deal that allows companies to sue foreign governments, which critics say would allow them to dodge health and environmental standards.

Supporters of the provisions argue they will keep governments from discriminating against foreign investors.

The pact is the biggest trade deal since the North American Free Trade Agreement freed up trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico.

More than two decades later, many blame that deal for factory closures and job losses, and see the TPPA as producing more of the same.

- Reuters