April 29, 2015, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement responding to the Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s address to a joint session of Congress:
“Monetary policy is the primary mechanism for pricing goods and services by nations, and any trade agreement that ignores this fact is no trade agreement at all. John Boehner has chosen to highlight this great flaw of the Trans-Pacific Partnership by inviting the key opponent of a monetary accord to speak in favor of an agreement — that primarily benefits Japan. The U.S. Congress is not a venue for foreign powers to influence the outcome of a treaty to which they are a party, and particularly one which ignores the two-thirds Senate majority necessary for constitutional ratification.
“Anyone who has driven on the roads the past thirty years knows that trade with Japan is already robust, with about $300 billion of total trade between our two nations every year. The Trans-Pacific Partnership is not necessary for there to be trade with Japan. Yet, any commercial treaty could and should include monetary policy. Monetary policy is trade policy, and should Congress and the president continue to ignore the elephant in the room, Americans who work for a living will continue to pay the price.
“The failure to include monetary policy in the Trans-Pacific Partnership is yet one more reason we urge members to oppose granting trade promotion authority to the president.”
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (703) 383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.
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