	Statutory Authority for Trade Agreements

The broad-gauged trade agreements entered into by the United States in the 1990s—the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement, and the multilateral trade agreements that a country must accept as a condition of WTO membership—were negotiated by the President and submitted to Congress under the terms of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (OTCA) and the Trade Act of 1974. The Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002 (BTPAA), contained in Title XXI of the Trade Act of 2002, granted renewed trade negotiating authority to the President. Although the authority expired during the 110 th Congress, implementing bills for trade agreements entered into before July 1, 2007, remained eligible for expedited legislative consideration. Agreements that had been entered into before July 1, 2007, but that had not been approved by that date, included U.S. free trade agreements with Colombia, Korea, and Panama. Congress approved the three agreements in October 2011 under the expedited BTPAA procedures. Additionally, the United States Trade Representative (USTR), on behalf of the President, notified the House and Senate by letter in December 2009 that the President intended to enter into negotiations aimed at a regional, Asia-Pacific trade agreement, called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Notwithstanding the expiration of BTPAA authorities, the USTR stated in a December 2009 Federal Register notice that "USTR is observing the relevant procedures of the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002 (19 U.S.C. 3804), which apply to agreements entered into before July 1, 2007, with respect to notifying and consulting with Congress regarding the TPP trade agreement negotiations." Notably, discussions to reinstate TPA through legislation have recently gained attention. In March 2013, the Acting U.S. Trade Representative, Demetrios Marantis, stated that the Obama Administration will work with Congress to enact new TPA legislation. Congress took this approach in the BTPAA with respect to ongoing FTA negotiations with Singapore and Chile and other trade negotiations under way at the time.
U.S. trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), World Trade Organization agreements, and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) have been approved by majority vote of each house rather than by two-thirds vote of the Senate—that is, they have been treated as congressional-executive agreements rather than as treaties. The congressional-executive agreement has been the vehicle for implementing Congress's long-standing policy of seeking trade benefits for the United States through reciprocal trade negotiations. In a succession of statutes, Congress has authorized the President to negotiate and enter into tariff and nontariff barrier (NTB) agreements for limited periods, while permitting NTB and free trade agreements negotiated under this authority to enter into force for the United States only if they are approved by both houses in a bill enacted into public law and other statutory conditions are met; implementing bills are also accorded expedited consideration under the scheme. This negotiating authority and expedited procedures are commonly known as Trade Promotion Authority (TPA).
Congress most recently granted the President temporary trade negotiating authority utilizing this approach in the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002 (BTPAA), contained in Title XXI of the Trade Act of 2002, P.L. 107-210. Although the authority expired during the 110th Congress, agreements entered into before July 1, 2007, remained eligible for congressional consideration under the expedited procedure. The President had entered into free trade agreements with Colombia, Korea, and Panama before this date, each of which awaited congressional approval at the time. In October 2011, Congress approved the three pending agreements, making a total of 11 free trade agreements approved under the BTPAA process.
In addition, the United States Trade Representative (USTR), on behalf of the President, notified the House and Senate in December 2009 by letter that the President intended to enter into negotiations aimed at a regional, Asia-Pacific trade agreement, called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Notwithstanding the expiration of BTPAA authorities, the USTR stated that the Obama Administration would be observing the relevant procedures of the act with respect to notifying and consulting with Congress regarding these negotiations. Notably, discussions to reinstate TPA through legislation have recently gained attention. In March 2013, the Acting U.S. Trade Representative, Demetrios Marantis, stated that the Obama Administration will work with Congress to enact new TPA legislation.