A strange brew of Democrats and conservative Republicans came together on Friday to defeat Barack Obama in a crippling blow to his international trade agenda. With the Democratic minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, speaking in opposition to the bill and going directly against Obama less than three hours after the president begged his party’s caucus to support it, the vote on trade adjustment assistance (TAA) – which would have provided government aid to workers who had lost their jobs because of free trade agreements – marks not just a major setback for future trade agreements but for Obama’s influence in his own caucus. The failed vote came as part of an effort by liberals to torpedo attempts by the Obama administration to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade deal. That deal has a much greater chance if Congress grants the president fast-track trade authority – which would mean future trade deals, such as the TPP and the proposed Transatlantic Tr...
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