Role of the US Congress in trade agreements. The ‘Fast-Track’ procedure

Since 1974, the United States Congress has several times enacted Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), defining the conditions and procedures for voting using a streamlined or expedited procedure, also known as the fast-track procedure, to pass implementing legislation in Congress for international trade agreements negotiated during a specific defined period of time. The 2015 TPA, passed in June 2015, contains the requirements and procedures for fast-track adoption of any international agreement entered into by the US before 1 July 2018 (with possible extension up to 1 July 2021) including any resulting from the ongoing Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations.

Written by Micaela Del Monte and Laura Puccio.

• Primary Source

European Parliament: Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union: Publications available via the EU Bookshop http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/directorate-general-for-internal-policies-of-the-union-cbf.cKABstF7wAAAEjwYYY4e5K/

ESO: Key Source: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) http://www.europeansources.info/record/transatlantic-trade-and-investment-partnership-ttip/

European Parliament: European Parliamentary Research Service: In-Depth Analysis, March 2016: Role of the US Congress in trade agreements. The 'Fast-Track' procedure http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2016/577999/EPRS_IDA(2016)577999_EN.pdf

---